A Journey Builds Character
by CrazyNutBob
Summary: Weeks after a fire ravaged New Bark Town, a ten-year-old girl starts her Pokémon journey and strolls to the lab to get her starter Pokémon. Despite the aforementioned disaster, she has her mind set on one Pokémon: Cyndaquil. However, the one that she meets is an angry, confused mess, and wants nothing to do with any trainer. Unfortunately, they're stuck together. 2nd in series, R
1. New Beginning

"Cynda..."

"Now, now, we don't want to go over this again..."

"QUIL!"

HEY! DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

"Cynda, Quil!"

"Ergh, Cyndaquil, no! Listen, you..."

"Cyn... da... quil..."

"OUCH! Seriously, why are you biting me?!"

Professor Elm tugged at the little Fire Mouse latched onto his arm by her teeth. The bite was painful, especially since she was heating the inside of her mouth. Elm could have sworn that he heard the little thing laughing at his pain, and it was very frustrating for him. He'd done nothing but raise her ever since she was discharged from the Pokémon Center. However, due to her behavior, she was not allowed around any of the starter Pokémon he was raising for beginning trainers.

It baffled him how this was the same Cyndaquil that came out of the Pokeball somebody dug up; the same one who had to be rushed to a Pokémon Center due to the awful injuries she bore; and the same Pokémon that moped for days on end when she realized she had been abandoned in a most inhumane way. And now, she was continually burning and biting anyone who crossed her; especially those who were human.

The video phone in the corner started ringing, and Elm stopped the tug of war with Cyndaquil to haul himself over there and answer it. He tried to ignore the dangling Pokémon who had her little teeth clamped onto his arm. Still scowling at the little Pokémon, he grabbed the phone, and watched as the screen revealed none other than Professor Oak.

"Hello?" Elm asked wearily.

"...I see she's still misbehaving," Oak remarked.

Elm lifted up his arm to show the elder man the troublesome Pokémon. "I'm used to Totodile bites... not Cyndaquil bites. I cannot wait until the day I receive a Totodile burn."

"Ouch. Perhaps you should return her to her Pokeball before she starts destroying things again."

"I was planning on it," Elm said as he stood up. He walked to the table where Cyndaquil's Pokeball lay, and then grabbed the ball.

Cyndaquil caught on to the plan, and she swiftly let go and tried to run. With shrieks of horrified anger, she scurried away from Professor Elm before he had completely turned around. However, having been used to Cyndaquil's methods of torturing him and trying to avoid him, he spread his legs out into a rock solid stance. He squinted his eye, adjusted his glasses, and aimed for the Cyndaquil. Just was she was about to jump behind something, he swiftly raised the Pokeball, which fired a beam at her fast enough so she couldn't escape. Once Cyndaquil was returned, he sighed and returned to the phone.

"Okay... I got her in there. Now, what is it that you're calling about?"

"I called to check up on how you were handling the Cyndaquil. Seeing your current state gives me plenty of information about her."

"You have plenty of the story, Professor Oak, but have you experienced a Pokémon with a serious attitude problem?"

"There was a Pikachu at my lab."

"And how did you handle that?"

"I did have plenty of problems with it. I experienced quite the shock every day. I kept it in its Pokeball for long periods of time, and frankly, that wasn't the best idea. However, I did have four beginning trainers come to my lab one day, and the last one to arrive ended up with Pikachu. To my surprise, even though they had a rough start, they became best friends."

"Glad to know that the Pikachu has had a happy ending. But are you saying that I should give Cyndaquil to a trainer so she can have lifted spirits and less of an attitude? That's the most insane idea I've ever heard!"

"I know, it does seem insane. Personally, I was reluctant to give Pikachu to the young trainer. However, I figure that once a Pokémon grasps a concept of what love is, and if their trainer loves them, they'll be happy Pokémon. Cyndaquil obviously developed her bad habits because her former trainer did not care for her at all, and thus, she has barely any concept of love. If she has one that'll treat her with kindness and respect, perhaps she'll learn that her aggression is not a problem-solving tool."

"Professor Oak, you've heard of the New Bark Fire, right? You know, the one that she initiated all by herself? With blue fire? Several people have landed in the hospital because of her! I remember a lot of children announcing that Cyndaquil was not an option for them anymore, just because of this one. Most people have been afraid to touch Fire-Types lately, with few exceptions."

"I know she is dangerous. In fact, I've been talking with Professor Aspen lately, and she says that the little one could be part-Legendary. To think we thought those were myths... and then that Pokémon comes along, proving Professor Aspen right after so long. However, I have a feeling that there's someone she's meant to be with out there, someone who'll be willing to take the fire she can shoot, and still be willing to train her."

"I don't know... even if the public hasn't even heard of these so-called 'Semi-Legendaries,' they still know that she's a force to be reckoned with." Professor Elm gripped the phone tighter. "Are you sure about this?"

Professor Oak nodded. "If we don't take the risk, leaving her in the lab could lead her to become stir crazy, and she might lose her temper again. Many more people will get injured and killed. Her power is immense for such a small Pokémon, and it's quite obvious she still doesn't completely grasp it. Another option may be to set her free into the wild, but I do not think she could survive for long. Worse, she could kill large numbers of other Pokémon, and maybe march into another town and start another fire. She needs someone to help her control her anger and power so she doesn't go berserk time and time again."

Professor Elm sighed. He didn't want to subject a new trainer to the torture he had to endure, but the other options were definitely much worse for both the public, and Cyndaquil herself.

"All right. I'll try to get her a new trainer. But just one thing... who in the right mind would take her as their starter Pokémon?"

* * *

On the other side of town one morning, a bespectacled man snuck into his daughters' room, snickering silently as he did so. He looked at the bunk bed where two girls were sleeping. The younger one slept on the bottom, with long brown hair and slightly tan skin, while the older one slept on top. She had short brown hair, and had paler skin than her sister. He climbed on, gripping the handle on the top, with his feet on the bottom bunk. Then he started bouncing and chanting his tune:

_ "Good Morning, Merry Sunshine  
Why did you come so soon?  
You chase away the stars  
And you scare away the moon!_"

Both girls suddenly awoke and sat up. They appeared confused for a moment, and then burst out laughing as their father sang the tune. He jumped off the bunk bed, grinning at the two girls. They both smiled back.

"Good morning!" he said.

"Morning!" the girls said.

"I thought you two should wake up now! Do you know what time it is? Now, get dressed! We all know what day it is," He turned and left the room

The older one opted to climb down the ladder from her bunk, but then decided against it and jumped off instead. She stretched her arms forward, slowly raising them up until they were completely over her head. Yawning, she scratched her head, trying to remember. She glanced at the calendar.

"Alyssa, you don't remember?" her younger sister asked, her brown eyes shining.

Alyssa looked at the calendar more closely. Her face suddenly lit up, her hazel eyes gleamed, and she smiled quite an enormous smile. It hit her what day it was, and she was filled with a surge of energy born of excitement.

"Now I remember, Allison! Today's the day I get my first Pokemon and start my journey!" she said, jumping around the room. "And you know what Pokémon I want more than any other?!"

Allison rolled her eyes. "Cyndaquil. You told me a million times."

Alyssa grinned. "YEP!"

The girls quickly got dressed and ran upstairs to eat breakfast. Like every morning, they got out bowls and cereal. Allison dumped Cheerios in her bowl, while Alyssa went for the corn flakes. Once the milk had been poured, Alyssa was gobbling up her cereal. However, she chewed noisily and with her mouth open, which disgusted both Allison, and the brother that had just walked into the kitchen.

"Alyssa, chew with your mouth closed! I don't want to see your chewed up food!" he complained with a grimace.

Alyssa glowered for a moment and swallowed her bite of Corn Flakes. She didn't speak to him, for he always had some clever comeback and she was stumped whenever he did that. She promptly obeyed and took another bite, this time, chewing with her mouth closed. She glanced at Allison, who nodded mildly, and she silently hoped the two wouldn't team up for teasing her.

_At least my Pokémon will be on my side. My brother wouldn't dare pick on me if my Cyndaquil could burn him on a whim, _she thought.

After breakfast, Alyssa filled her backpack as much as she could, filling it with things she needed on her journey. Food was packed, as was plenty of money. Sleeping materials, extra clothes, hygiene products, and other things were on the list. It was amazing how it was all able to fit in the backpack. Allison was more than happy to help her pack, just for one last conversation until her sister left.

"Hey, Alyssa, do you think you'll win the Johto League?" Allison asked.

"I don't know. I'll just have to see," Alyssa replied.

"When I start my journey, can I battle you?"

"Bad idea. I'll- I'll, uh...oh, have too much...what was it? Experience! You'll lose, Allison."

Allison glared. "Not if I have a Celebi!"

"Uh, Celebi's a Legendary. I doubt you'll catch one."

"How about a Pikachu?"

"I don't know. What type am I using?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I probably will end up catching the usual Pokemon, like a Pidgey, or a Caterpie."

"You'll get a Butterfree!"

"I said _probably_."

Their mother came in and tied a red bandanna around Alyssa's neck. She backed up and looked at Alyssa to see how the bandana fit with the large grey button shirt and black leggings she wore. After a silent nod, she said, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, Mom," Alyssa replied.

"It should be useful for putting out fires until you catch a Water or Ground type. Although, do we really need another Fire Type? We already have a couple Rapidash in the backyard, and after the fire on the other side of town..."

"Don't worry, Mom. Cyndaquil are very... uh... mild. Very mild. And I'm sure that I won't get the one that caused that fire a while ago. Besides, we have more fireproof stuff than waterproof stuff! I'll handle Quinn just fine!"

Allison looked confused. "Quinn?"

"It's what I'll call my Cyndaquil. I'm sure he'll like the name." Alyssa said.

Allison thought for a moment. "What if it's a girl?"

Alyssa blinked. "Well... see, there aren't many girl Cyndaquil, y'know?"

Allison stared at her. "It could happen. You might get a girl Cyndaquil."

"Fine, I'd call her Cindy."

"Ooh, it fits! Cindy the Cyndaquil!"

Alyssa giggled. Getting a girl Cyndaquil might be kind of cool. After all, it was a one in eight chance of getting a female. She had always wondered why male starters were more common than female starters. Why wasn't it more even?

Her mom kissed her on the cheek and wrapped her in a hug. Alyssa squeezed her until they broke away. Then, she caught Allison in a hug. Then the other members of her family, which consisted of her father, brother, and two-year-old sister, came in, and each had a turn in hugging her (although the one with her brother was kind of awkward).

She opened the door and ran out, waving goodbye to her family and shouting, "Goodbye! I love you!"

* * *

Alyssa stood at the doors of the lab, breathing in and out. Chills ran up and down her spine, and she inwardly shuddered. What if Cyndaquil didn't like her? What if somebody already took it? Would she choose Chikorita or Totodile? She took another deep breath and walked in.

She wandered around for a bit before she found Professor Elm. He was holding a Pokeball, which appeared to be the only one left. She put her hands behind her back, and rocked back and forth as she listened to his mumblings to the Pokeball. What she heard came off as a little strange to her.

"Oh, it's been a few weeks and nobody wants you... I shouldn't have listened to him." she heard him mumble. It took a few moments before he noticed her. "Oh, hello."

"Hi, Professor Elm. I'm ready to start my journey." she mumbled.

"Oh, uh, you must be..." He looked at the schedule. "Alyssa! Miranda and Lucas took the other two, so I have one left."

Alyssa sighed. _Of course Miranda took Chikorita, that snob. And Lucas is such a pansy. He'll have trouble deciding between being bitten, or being burned,_ she thought.

"I guess I'll take whatever's in that Pokeball, huh?"

Professor Elm grimaced, and looked at the Pokeball a good five seconds before setting it down and rambling, "Oh, this? You don't want this Pokémon! It's very cranky, and irritable, and has a bad temper, and..."

"So?" Alyssa was still expecting him to at least show her.

He bit his lip. "So... say, why don't you come back tomorrow? I'll have a better behaved one just for you!" he exclaimed, chuckling nervously.

Alyssa made a face at him, and snatched the Pokeball from the table where it laid. Professor Elm had nary a moment before Alyssa held the Pokeball out and called, "Come out...whoever you are!"

The Pokeball opened up and a beam of energy shot out. It formed itself into a little Pokémon. Alyssa's eyes widened and she smiled. It was a Cyndaquil! Her smile evolving into a grin, she started bouncing in place, unaware of the confused glare that the Fire Mouse gave her.

"Oh, my gosh! A Cyndaquil! Yes, I was hoping to get one of these! It's so cute!" she exclaimed. She stopped bouncing and crouched down to take a closer look at Cyndaquil. Professor Elm grimaced and stepped back, especially when seeing Cyndaquil's expression. He cautiously warned, "Careful, Alyssa..."

Cyndaquil still glowered at Alyssa, especially since the human didn't seem to notice how annoyed she was at her presence. Was she blind or something? The invasion of personal space also got on her nerves as well.

_Who is this girl, and why is she talking to me? Dumb human, I'll show her,_ she thought.

"...and I swear, he's such a perfect Pokémon!" Alyssa rambled with stars in her eyes.

"Uh, _she,_" Professor Elm corrected.

"It's a girl? Wow, what a coincidence, I was talking about that with my sister earlier!" She turned her attention back to Cyndaquil, who seemed to have lost all of what little patience she had. "Now, I should introduce myself. My name's Alyss-_AHHHHH!_"

Cyndaquil, as crabby as she is, had let out a Flamethrower on her face. Elm jumped at the display that Cyndaquil gave to the beginner, and was playing out what he'd have to explain to her parents when they found out about this. However, once the Flamethrower had stopped, Alyssa stood up, with a very ashy face filled with shock.

"Uhh..." she said. "Why did she do that?"

"I told you she was cranky. But I have to admit, your face turned out better than I thought it would. But, then again, I assume you're the daughter of the Rapidash rancher that lives across town, so I guess you can stand being burned."

"Rapidash rancher? I-I don't think we have enough Rapidash-or space-to call our home a ranch."

"Oh... you'll forgive me for that little mistake won't you? But enough of that, I at least know that being around those Horse Pokémon for so long must have given you a good heat tolerance. I'll have a different Pokemon ready for you tomorrow, and you could start your journey then."

He got her a wet towel and she wiped her face. When she was done, she glanced at the Cyndaquil, who had wandered into the corner. "If I do that, how will I know if she's not there? Will somebody else take her?"

Professor Elm shook his head. "I'm afraid not. She's scared every trainer off for the past few weeks. I might as well give up on her."

Alyssa stared at the Cyndaquil, who still faced the corner. The pause provided enough silence to let her hear the soft sounds coming from the Pokémon. Surprisingly, Cyndaquil wasn't grumbling; she was moaning sadly. About what, she didn't know, but she could tell that Cyndaquil needed a friend. With a soft heart but a bit of fear, she thought, _I can't believe I'm doing this._

"Thanks, Professor, but if I don't take Cyndaquil, nobody will, like you said. In fact, I think I'll just nickname her right now, to claim her as my own! And thus, she shall be called Qui-" She suddenly remembered the alternate name she thought of earlier. "-I mean, Cindy."

Cyndaquil looked over her shoulder upon hearing this, and a squeaky growl rolled out of her throat. First she felt anger, because now there was another who'd traumatize her, just like the trainer before. Even worse, this one was such a moron! And then there was confusion, because the name "Cindy" seemed so familiar, like she'd been called that before. But she couldn't place when she was called that. Her head hurt trying to think about it, and her usual flying-through-the-forest nightmare flashed in her mind.

Professor Elm stared in disbelief as Alyssa took Cindy's Pokeball. Could she be the trainer that could help Cyndaquil overcome her problems? He had his doubts when looking at her, as she held an unusual combination of cheekiness, naivety, and strangely enough, coyness. He watched as she held it and pointed it toward the newly-named Pokémon.

"Cindy, return," she called.

A beam shot from the Pokeball, but Cindy dodged it, squeaking, "Quil!" _No!_

Alyssa's bright eyes formed an annoyed glare, and she said, "I said, return!"

She tried again, and Cindy dodged again. Crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out, she was adamant about her refusal.

Alyssa stomped in frustration and kept trying to return Cindy, but Cindy wouldn't obey. Soon, she was chasing the little Pokémon around the lab, firing the beams from the Pokeball over and over, and the Fire Mouse snidely eluded each one, making a mean face at the girl in the process. Alyssa bumped her elbows, head, and knees on some machines, and tripped over a chair. She crawled from the spot on the floor she fell onto, and attempted to grab Cindy, who was laughing at her.

"Why won't you return?!" she shouted.

The sharp tone of Alyssa's voice made her jump, and she was almost afraid of getting hit. However, she quickly calmed down, realizing that this girl was just a kid. With a mocking laugh and a spiteful glare, she pointed at the Pokeball, and squeaked scornfully, as if to say, _"I'm not going back into that accursed thing!_"

She blew a raspberry at Alyssa, who was getting angrier as this went on. Tired of her Pokémon's sass, she suddenly sprang up, and grabbed her, and clutched as tightly as she could, not caring how much Cindy squealed or bit or even burned her. But despite all her efforts, she had dropped the Pokeball too far for her to reach, and she could not move with the fiery furball in her arms.

Meanwhile, Professor Elm watched, thinking, _This will not go well for the both of them._

* * *

**Hello, everyone! If you had read the first installment of this, good for you! If not... go read it, it'll give a little more insight to little Cindy's behavior. Okay... why am I convinced that a Pokémon who doesn't take to their trainer at first glance is cliché or something? Bah, I don't want to be too cliché... **

**But, hey, this will actually be more upbeat and comedic than the last fic. And yes, this will remind you of the first episode of the Pokémon anime... sorry about that, that's not original. Oh, the shame... **

**Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this next installment of Cindy's story, so R&R, please. :D**


	2. Clash of Pokemon and Trainer

Alyssa ran into her backyard, still clutching her new Cyndaquil, and went straight for the shed. She opened the door, managing to keep a tight grip on the squirming Pokémon under her arm, and walked in. She picked up a lead rope, set Cindy down, and then before the Fire Mouse could break out into a run, she wrapped it around her neck once, and snapped the latch in order to make a suitable collar and leash.

With a growl, Cindy flared her back, and attempted to burn the lead rope, but to her surprise, it had very little effect on the thing. Alyssa only showed her a satisfied smirk.

"Fireproof equipment. Used for our Rapidash. I hope you're impressed."

"Quil!" Cindy crossed her arms and looked away.

"Hey, it was either this or the Pokeball; you hate the ball, hate me carrying you, and I know you'll run off at the first opportunity. So, I'm forced to use the lead rope. Now, come on, let's go."

As Alyssa attempted to walk out the door, Cindy sat down defiantly. Alyssa stopped when she felt the rope straighten out, and then began to tug. She pulled hard enough to start dragging the little Pokémon, and Cindy winced at the mild pain of the friction of her bottom and the hay-covered floor of the shed. But she still sat, not willing to walk for this human.

Alyssa managed to drag Cindy outside when she noticed the Rapidash staring at her and the Cyndaquil. One of them, wearing a dirty halter, nickered at her, and another one, wearing a blue halter, looked at Cindy in a funny manner. The other two wore green and grey halters, and were giving the Fire Mouse funny looks as well. Cindy replied to the faces by sticking her tongue out at them.

Blowing some of her hair out of her face, she turned to the two horse Pokémon and gestured to Cindy. "Hello, fellas! This is Cindy. Cindy, this gang here are our Rapidash: April, TC, Domino, and Dusty. Dad took up training Ponyta and Rapidash a while ago... well, at least before I was born... my brother says that he's known April longer than he's known me..."

Cindy rubbed her temples. _Stop talking, you're giving me a headache._

* * *

Cindy had used up all her strength fighting Alyssa's tugging, and through Alyssa pointing out that she'd get rope burns on her neck if she continued resisting, Cindy begrudgingly walked along the path that stretched in the middle of a field. Remembering the burns that she received whenever she had been tethered to a tree by Anonimo, thanks to her many losses, it was apparent that complying on this would hurt her less. However, the Pokemon was in a fit, still mad that she was stuck with a human again.

"So, has life been treating you good?" Alyssa asked her.

_Idiot, I can't speak human, remember?_ she thought.

"I guess it hasn't, with your..." Alyssa stopped, trying to think of a euphemism. "Attitude right now." she finished. She avoided the word _bad_, even though it was true. "But, don't worry, I'm going to take good care of you! Being around Ponyta and Rapidash my whole life-okay, okay, how do I word this? Well, it has me accustomed to fire... not that my siblings aren't! My brother has expressed desire for a Charizard! We used to live in Kanto... but we moved to Johto before he turned ten... so he's kind of mad about that... um..." she began rambling.

Cindy sighed. _First, I'm with a human that beats me senseless, and now I'm with one that seems to have an annoying talking problem._

"But, because we own Rapidash, we have a lot of fireproof stuff, like the fireproof halter that we're using right now... fireproof saddles, and fireproof brushes, our clothes are fireproof, and a... a... ah, you get the idea!" Alyssa tugged at the bandanna around her neck. "This bandanna is fireproof, too! Mom told me that I could use it to put out fires until I catch a Water Type or Ground Type."

An evil thought crept into Cindy's mind. She looked at all the dry grass around her, and snickered at the thought of what she could do to dissuade this trainer from using her. She scanned the area, looking for a good place to start. She didn't seem to notice nor care that Alyssa had stopped talking.

Alyssa looked up at the sky, perplexed by the lack of clouds in the sky. It was a hot day, and she secretly wished it would rain. The sky was a nice shade of blue, but she wanted to see some rain clouds and smell the dampness that came along. She enjoyed a good drizzle if it wasn't too hard, and if there was a lack of thunder and lightning; the boom of thunder terrified her.

Her musing was interrupted by the smell of smoke, and she turned her head to face the source of the odor. To her dismay, a grassfire had started beside her, and it was beginning to spread. She yelped in shock, and bounced nervously, her head whipping back and forth to find somebody-_anybody-_who would be both willing and able to stop the fire before it would morph into a wildfire. Her heart sank to find that she was alone in that regard.

She looked down at her Cyndaquil, who had a clear expression of naughtiness etched on her face. "Cindy, I know it was you! We're the only ones here!"

"Cynda..." Cindy shrugged, shaking her head. Then she clapped her paws and pointed at the fire. _You said that cheap little cloth of yours could put out a fire. So, hop to it, human._

Alyssa glared at her, dragged her to a large rock, and then set the lead rope down. She shoved the rock so it would fall on top of the rope, and then stood up, pointed at Cindy, and snarled, "Stay." At which point she turned around, pulled off the bandanna, unfolded it to its full size, which wasn't all that big, and ran toward the blaze, whacking each flame with as much force as possible.

Cindy laughed out loud at the sight. _Even if you didn't weigh a rock on the rope, I wouldn't miss this show!_

Alyssa fought the flames with each thwack of the bandanna, and avoiding each lick of the blaze. The heat scorched her skin, and the pounding with the cloth seemed to have little effect due to the small size of it. When she pounded out a smaller burning patch of grass, she found that the others had grown larger, and was forced to grab handfuls of dirt to throw them at the blaze.

She paused to open her backpack and grab a water bottle, but when she dumped it on a patch of flames, it didn't help much. Alyssa growled out loud and continued to try to beat the flames with her bandanna and throwing dirt at it. At one point, she decided to simply put dirt on the bandanna and throw the dirt with the cloth. She tried that, and while there was a noticeable difference, there still was minimal effect on the overall blaze. Throughout the entire time, Cindy was laughing at the sight.

Just then, a Diglett popped up beside her. Cindy glanced at it, and curiously poked it.

The Diglett took one look at the flames, and its eyes widened in shock and terrible realization. It popped back underground, leaving Cindy confused as to why that happened. She shrugged it off and continued to watch Alyssa's hilariously failing firefighting attempt.

Alyssa was throwing more dirt on the fire, and beating it as hard as she could with her bandanna. She managed to beat one burning patch to the ground, and sand another, but more flames sprang up in other places, making it impossible for one kid to extinguish a fire by herself. Even worse, the smoke was in her face all the time, making it harder to fight the flames. But still she kept whacking the flames and chucking dirt at them, even when she felt ashes on her body.

"Hey!" Alyssa yelled to Cindy. "You, help!"

Cindy tapped her chin and shook her head. She tugged at the rope being held down by the rock, showing her that she couldn't even go over there to help if she wanted to. Besides, this show was too enjoyable for her to stop watching.

The Diglett that Cindy had met had reappeared, and it brought friends. Lots of them. There was just about an uncountable number of Digletts and Dugtrios that were popping up around the grassfire, eyeing it with the utmost seriousness. And then, in a disappointing climax, they all somehow threw the dirt at the fire, much to the confusion and irritation of the Cyndaquil.

_"Hey!"_ Cindy yelled. _"Where did all of you come from?!"_

They ignored her as they increased the power of their Sand Attacks, throwing more dirt at the fire and helping Alyssa fight it. There was a noticeable decrease in flames, and it was easier for the girl to beat the flames with the bandanna. The Diglett and Dugtrio continued their Sand Attacks until there was just a small flame left, which Alyssa easily snuffed out herself by stepping on it. She looked around as the Ground Types rejoiced in their victories against the grassfire.

"Well then... thank you, random Diglett and Dugtrio..." Alyssa mumbled.

One of the Diglett turned around, and dug its way toward Cindy. She backed up against the rock, unsettled with the way the Diglett approached her. Glaring at her, it threw sand in her face, and growled, _"I hope you're proud of yourself, princess. Your little prank could have damaged our ecosystem!"_

Wiping sand out of her face, Cindy replied, _"Well, how do you know it's not an accident?"_

_"If it was, you would have been trying to help your trainer instead of sitting here laughing your butt off! Now no more pranks that could destroy the food and homes of wild Pokémon!"_

All the Diglett and Dugtrio went back underground and left. Upon their departure, Cindy crossed her arms and grumbled under her breath as Alyssa returned from her spot and dug the lead rope from under the rock.

With a sigh, Alyssa folded her amazingly unscathed bandanna and tied it back around her neck. "Wow... this thing is tougher than I thought. It's much less scorched than I am... and the grass..." Alyssa grimaced at the blackened patch of grass. "Cindy, you better not do that again. Those Diglett and Dugtrio are most likely unhappy with you for that."

_Yeah, I noticed, _Cindy thought with a scowl.

* * *

That evening, Alyssa stopped in a good spot in a cool forest, and checked her Pokegear for the weather for that night. It was going to be a clear night, so she set up her sleeping area. Pulling her sleeping bag and pillow from her backpack, she smoothed it out on some soft grass, and plopped the pillow at the opening of the bag. She stood up and looked proudly at the bed she created.

Meanwhile, Cindy had climbed into a tree, trying to stay away from her trainer. It didn't mattered that Alyssa had managed to start a fire(with matches), and cook up some leftover spaghetti. Or that when she was done, she took a fork from her backpack and shoved it into the spaghetti. Or that she took out another bowl and filled it with Pokémon food. Cindy ignored the all too familiar pangs as she watched Alyssa walk over to the tree and set the bowl down.

"Here's your food! Come down and eat!" Alyssa called.

"Quil... cynda." _Uhhh... no._ Cindy turned up her nose.

"Come on. You have to eat something!"

"Quil Cyndaquil." _I'm not hungry._ Her stomach roared loudly in defiance of her thoughts. Alyssa couldn't help but giggle.

"Don't deny it, I can hear your stomach." she said, walking away. "If you're not gonna eat tonight, there'll be more for tomorrow, right?" She sat down and pulled the fork from the spaghetti. She twirled the utensil in the noodles, lifted it up, and shoved her capture into her mouth, enjoying the delicious of succulent tomato sauce and stringy pasta. She repeated the action, and Cindy couldn't help but watch from her perch.

Cindy growled and wiped her watering mouth. _What does she care whether I eat or not? After all, I'm just a tool for her selfish agenda; it's not like she realizes I'm alive._ Her stomach growled even louder, loud enough that Alyssa spun around and stared.

"Wow." she mumbled. "Uh, I think you better eat now, because that's loud, and that means you're _really_ hungry."

Cindy crossed her arms and looked away.

"C'mon, eat, it's food! Who can resist?"

_I didn't even earn this! Why are you pushing me to eat?_

"Fine. Don't eat. But when you die of starvation, don't blame it on me."

_I think I'd rather die than be with a human. _

Alyssa sighed. _That stubborn Cyndaquil. I thought for sure that mentioning starvation would make her eat. But, then again, Grandma's threats of starvation didn't solve my pickiness._ Alyssa took a good look at the tree Cindy was in. _I wonder if she realizes she's in an apple tree..._ She shrugged and turned to finish her spaghetti, but found that her bowl was empty.

"Huh? Where's my spaghetti?" she said. She looked around for a bit, and turned to Cindy in the tree. "Do you know what happened?" she asked.

_Yeah, I saw that Sentret take it._ Cindy pointed to a Sentret that had spaghetti sauce all over its face. Alyssa turned and jumped at the sight of the furball. Staring at the Pokémon, her surprise turned to anger.

"Hey! That was my dinner!" she hollered.

The Sentret stuck it's tongue out and wiggled its backside at her in mockery. "Sentret, Sentret, Sentreeet..."

"Quit mocking me! Why didn't you just get your own food?!"

Cindy laughed at Alyssa's reaction to the Sentret that stole her spaghetti. Of all the wild Pokémon that chose to bother Alyssa, it was a Sentret. That little thief presumably did it just because it could, not because it was desperate. It was downright funny at how mad Alyssa was over a plate of spaghetti and the mocking that the Sentret gave her.

Alyssa turned to Cindy and glared. "It's not funny!" She looked at the Sentret again, who was now raiding her backpack. "HEY! Get out of my backpack!" She ran toward the Sentret and pulled it out of her backpack. Sentret bit her and she let out a cry, dropping it. Sentret grabbed the food from her backpack and started running. Alyssa growled.

"I expected an Aipom to do this, but Sentret? Oh, gosh, this is stupid!" She took off after Sentret, chasing it around camp. She ran as fast as she could, but tripped at one point. She got back up, and resumed chasing it at full speed. Sentret was squealing as the human was chasing it, and the squealing was grinding on Alyssa's nerves.

Between her catches of breath, she called to Cindy, "Hey! I could use some help here! Get out of that tree and help me!"

_No way! This is priceless!_ Cindy thought, practically laughing her head off. Her stomach growled, making her remember she was hungry. _What's a show without food?_ She slid down the tree, picked up the bowl of Pokémon food, and scrambled back up before Alyssa had time to notice. She chewed on the tidbits while Alyssa sprinted after Sentret. _Good food, too._

After a while, both Alyssa and Sentret stopped to catch their breath. Alyssa realized she had a window of opportunity, so she jumped on it and grabbed its ear. Sentret squealed in surprised, and squirmed in her grasp. It tried to twist itself to bite her, but that twisted its ear, and hurt it. After a while, it gave up and resorted to pleading eyes toward the trainer.

"Drop it," Alyssa ordered. Sentret promptly obeyed, afraid Alyssa was going to hurt it. Alyssa let go of it and softly kicked it.

"Now, go home." she said threateningly. Sentret, breathing a sigh of relief and silent praying in thanks that it was okay, turned around and sped off into the brush.

Alyssa breathed heavily and mumbled, "That's my exercise for today." She picked up the containers of food and carried them back to her backpack. She crouched down, looked for any other Pokémon that might try to steal her food, and carefully put each container back into the bag. She heard loud, satisfied munching and looked up at Cindy. Seeing that the Cyndaquil had been feeding herself, she smirked.

Cindy raised an eyebrow. _Why are you looking at me like that?_

With a laugh, Alyssa hollered, "At least I got you to eat!"

Cindy looked at the bowl, now empty, and remembered that Alyssa had been pushing her to eat earlier. Her jaw dropped, realizing that she ended up doing what this human had been pushing her to do. First, it was the walking; and now it was dinner. She growled in irritation, especially in Alyssa's smug attitude about her victory against the Pokémon.

"Oh, and did you know you're in an apple tree?" Alyssa called up.

_Why I oughta..._ Cindy snarled, angry that Alyssa was now teasing her. She threw the bowl at the trainer, who had ducked to avoid being hit, but still retained that irritating smugness. Having enough of Alyssa's games-and somehow suspecting that the Sentret had been in on it-she quickly slid down from her branch, and her bright flames flared from her back.

"Cynda..." she said.

Alyssa frowned and a sudden anxiety emerged within her. She knew what was coming, and with this knowledge, she could only murmur, "Uh, oh."

"QUIL!" Cindy spewed flames from her mouth, and Alyssa took off running. Cindy began chasing her around camp, angrily firing Flamethrower at her. That girl would pay for her petty little slights against this Cyndaquil, among them humiliation in front of a troop of Digletts and Dugtrios, and tricking her into eating her food. There was no way this human would win against her for long. Cindy still had firepower on her side, and she intended to use it as she did now.

"Come on, Cindy! I just finished running!" Alyssa shouted.

* * *

**A/N: Aw, yes, the beautiful friendship between a trainer and Pokémon am I right? If you're seeing that, I think you may be reading this story wrong. Cindy clearly does not want a friend in her new trainer; in fact, she doesn't want a trainer at all! If the fire and the Sentret thing don't tell you that, then what are they telling you?**

**Also, convenient Ground Types, yay! :3**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, R&R, and wait for chapter 3! Be patient, readers...**


	3. On a Cold Night

"Are you sure you want to sleep up there tonight?" Alyssa asked the Cyndaquil, who was once again perched on the tree branch. Night had fallen, and Alyssa shone her flashlight on Cindy, who had her back turned to her.

Cindy ignored her, or at least tried to. She wasn't going to listen to this nutjob, especially after the teasing. How this girl refused to take a hint was beyond her. After all, what right had this trainer to boss her around? She saw the way that she had stopped that Sentrer; by tackling it and pinning it down until it released the stolen food. She even kicked the thing! Remembering how it felt when Anonimo had kicked her, she wasn't going to let this little hypocrite get to her.

"All right, if that makes you happy. You're welcome to come and sleep in my sleeping bag anytime." Alyssa said. _Since you hate your Pokeball,_ she thought. She took off her shoes and crawled into her sleeping bag. She fluffed her pillow a little bit, with glances wandering to the Cyndaquil in the tree. She groaned inwardly, wondering what this Cyndaquil's problem was to make her have such an attitude. She started suspecting that the Fire Mouse was going to bolt the first chance she got. She wouldn't be surprised if she didn't find her there in the morning. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned and tucked herself in, and then closed her eyes.

Cindy carefully rolled from her position to see if Alyssa had fallen asleep yet. She watched as the girl tossed and turned, and rose several times to flip or smack her pillow. Every so often, Alyssa would look at Cindy in the tree, and Cindy would have to pretend to be asleep to keep herself from getting caught staring. It was about an hour of this, with unpredictable movements that made Cindy tense up before the trainer was still, and her breathing slower. Cindy was getting sleepy as well, but she wanted to make sure that Alyssa had fallen asleep before doing anything.

Once she was certain that the human was asleep, she jumped out of the tree, and started running into the dark forest. She didn't care how dark it was, or if there was any dangerous Pokemon among the trees, she just cared about her freedom from that human girl. A wide grin had appeared on her face, and she ran as fast as she could, although much of her felt limp, and she found it impossible to stifle yawns.

_Ha, ha! I'm free! No human is going to hurt me anymore!_ she thought, running as fast as she could. She'll be long gone by morning. She began laughing in triumph. She imagined the look on Alyssa's face when she had realized her Cyndaquil had abandoned her. She thought of all the things she could do now as a wild Pokémon, free from any human influence. She could feed herself; she could train herself. She could refuse a bath, she could make her own home, and she could defend herself from everybody; especially now she had learned to ignite her flames whenever needed. There was endless possibilities for what she could do, and nobody was going to tell her otherwise.

She slowed down and looked back, looking at the dim, moonlit path she had just scampered down. She wished that she could see that pathetic girl cry, but it was a sacrifice she had to make. It was a shame; Cindy was having a little fun torturing her on the first day of her journey. After all, humans deserve punishment for using Pokémon as simple little weapons, right? At least she knew Anonimo did.

Her smirk faded into a frown. Anonimo. She growled and stomped in the dirt. What was the point of revenge if Anonimo wasn't there, just Alyssa as a scapegoat? That thought swiftly took out about half of the pleasure that she had when forcing Alyssa to put out that grassfire by herself, or when enjoying the Sentret chase. Did Alyssa even know who Anonimo was?

She began to have her doubts about leaving so soon. She felt a strange yearning to go back, like she was obligated to serve this human, that her life would be empty without one, and that she wasn't supposed to leave. She stamped on the ground again, snarling and flaring ferociously.

_NO! She's nothing but a human! Humans are cruel to little Pokémon like me! Why should I go back?!_ She screamed in her thoughts. Why did she feel she needed to go back? Wouldn't Alyssa be just as bad as Anonimo? Going back and living a life of servitude to a human being did not sound fun, especially when her first trainer left her a painful memory on her arm.

She sat on a nearby rock and pondered about it, softly stroking the scar that marred her right arm. She never flamethrowered Anonimo and yet he treated her like crud, to the point where she had that permanent reminder right where she can see it. Yet, she flamethrowered Alyssa who knows how many times in one day, and yet she wasn't mad enough to even strike her, just yell and be angry for a moment. But, then again, she did go after that Sentret for stealing her food.

And then it hit her. They hadn't battled anyone yet! She lost so many battles with Anonimo, and that's why he was so mean; Alyssa hadn't come across anyone to battle, so there was no way to tell how Alyssa would react to losing a battle and if she'd take it out on her Pokémon. Cindy still sat on her rock, with her arms crossed. There was no doubt in her mind that any human, male or female, at any age, loves victory and detests defeat; a punishment for a loss was inevitable. She hopped off the rock, and stormed even deeper into the forest, despite fatigue gripping onto her limbs.

Despite this, the urge to go back was too strong, and she could not walk any farther without feeling her insides tugged by an invisible force. She could hear a voice whisper for her to turn back, and even when she tried to scream her refusal to this voice, it persisted. She was reduced to plodding slowly, losing her little energy on fighting this force, and she even opted to just fall forward and sleep. But those hard tugs on her spirit kept her awake, and she struggled in fighting it, walking forward, or even giving in to sleep.

She thought about Croconaw, wondering if he ever felt tugged like this when he was running away from Anonimo and his other Pokémon. Sure, being chased probably helped him, but she couldn't help but feel as if she didn't do something that he did. She replayed the scene in her mind, from the lashed eye, to him watching her beating, the exchanged glances between him and Anonimo, and the Pokeball being crushed-

The Pokeball. She realized that she never had a chance to smash her own Pokeball. Alyssa had it hidden somewhere, but it was definitely with her. Realizing that destroying her own Pokeball was the key to being free from the human, she turned and began walking back. At first, she thought that since Alyssa was asleep, it was the perfect opportunity to search for it, crush it, and then leave without any worries.

But as the invisible force subsided, every part of her body felt heavy, and her head and arms were limp. As much as she wanted to try to get her little paws on that Pokeball, she was too tired. Plus, the fear of being caught starting weighing on her. As of now, she was trapped, unsure of when the next window to snatch that thing and smash it.

"I feel so stupid. I'm walking to my own funeral," she mumbled.

When she had made it back to camp, she climbed back up the tree, although her weak arms failed to grasp the trunk firmly enough, causing her to slip quite a few times. Unwilling to be on the ground, she forced herself to climb, and even drove the claws on her feet into the wood. She breathed heavily, and once she was at the top, she used the last of her strength to lift herself onto the branch and pull her toenails out of the trunk. She laid down, her eyelids heavy, and looked at her sleeping trainer. Alyssa was laying on her side, with some of her brown hair falling into her face, and her nose scrunching up and head shaking from the tickle it gave her. Other than that, she looked so comfortable.

Unable to resist her sleepiness, Cindy curled up on the branch and attempted to fall asleep. But at that moment, a chilly wind began to blow, and she started shivering. Her short fur could not keep her warm against that cold breeze, and she was much too tired to ignite her back. She groaned in dismay. She was a Fire Type; cold should not affect her. And yet, it did.

Despite knowing that Alyssa offered her to sleep _in_ the bag, she didn't want to, for fear she misheard and she said _on_. Taking up that human's offer was too risky. She didn't want to be struck, not again. She did not need another scar to bear where either she or others may see. So she shut her eyes tightly, and tried to tough it out. She clenched her teeth, but they soon began rattling against each other.

Alyssa woke up to Cindy's teeth chattering. At first, Alyssa opted to stick her head under her pillow and try to ignore it. She didn't need any racket this late, she needed sleep! But as soon as she felt hot, she pulled it back out, and sat up, just about ready to yell at Cindy to keep it down. But then the wind blew, and Alyssa ended up shivering herself. She wanted to crawl back into her bag, but the sight of the shivering Cyndaquil tugged at her heartstrings. She couldn't blame her for shivering; this wind felt like it belonged in the winter!

"She needs a blanket," she whispered to herself. She forced herself to crawl over to her backpack and rummage through it, trying to find an extra blanket. Even though the strangely icy wind pelted her, she continued digging. _Aw, geez! Is someone training an Ice Type nearby in the middle of the night?!_ she thought, rubbing her eyes. She glanced once again at Cindy. _If she could light her flame while sleeping, she'd be fine. Unfortunately, she can't, and she doesn't want to sleep in her Pokeball or in my sleeping bag._

She found a hold on some fleecy cloth, and pulled out a blue and white plaid blanket. She folded it so it wouldn't hang too much and fall off Cindy, but wouldn't make her too warm. Imagining an invisible armor in order to resist the cold, she quickly and quietly tiptoed over to the tree where Cindy was sleeping. She danced in place when she stood on the cold grass, and threw the blanket over her. Cindy immediately stopped shivering, and squeaked out a little sigh.

"Good," she mumbled. Although she wondered why Cindy hadn't left yet, she shrugged it off, and ran back to her sleeping bag to avoid being in the chilly wind much longer. She crawled back in, taking one last look at Cindy. She had her head lifted to see Cindy, before plopping it onto the pillow and looking up at the stars. Her heavy eyelids shut, and she fell back asleep.

Cindy raised her head, surprised by Alyssa's action. Anonimo never did that; and she never expected a furless human to walk out into a cold wind just to give her a blanket. Although it was nice, Cindy didn't buy it.

_She'll start beating on me when I lose a battle,_ she thought, shooting a tired glare at her._ If I just keep her on her toes, she won't hurt me. And once I get my paws on that Pokeball, I'll be free._

Still, she couldn't help but be thankful for the blanket. Yawning, she gathered a bunch of the blanket to form a pillow much like Alyssa's. When she was done, she laid her head down and slept.

* * *

"Wake up, sleepyhead! It's morning!"

"Quil, Cyndaquil-quil!" _Aw, five more minutes! _She curled tightly into her blanket, trying to block out the noise that the already awake Alyssa was making.

But Alyssa was persistent; and annoyingly cheerful for this time of day. "Come on, don't you want breakfast?"

Cindy sat up, turned to Alyssa, and gave her a weird look. "Cyn-daquil?" _What's breakfast? _In all her days, she had not once heard that word. Was it a strange ritual that was exclusive to Alyssa and a few others, or was it a common practice to everybody except Anonimo and a few others? Did it have to do with hunger? Because she was a little hungry at that moment.

"Are you sure you don't wanna eat?" Alyssa gave her the puppy-dog eyes, and pouting in a childlike manner.

Well, she learned that this 'breakfast' had something to do with food. With a raised eyebrow and a scowl, she replied, "Quil." _No._

"Not even the apples in the apple tree you're in?"

Cindy shook her head, pouting. _Not even if an Ursaring stole your food and I found it funny would I eat! _

"Geez, you just wanna starve, don't you?" Alyssa was getting irritated, although she attempted to cover that with a playful smirk. This Cyndaquil was either out to annoy her, trying to get rid of her, or just suffer from malnutrition until she drops dead. Alyssa tried to remind herself that her grandma would remind her of starvation whenever she refused to eat something; but, then again, she had always heard it as 'salvation.'

"Look," she said, taking the blanket from the tree and stuffing it into her bag, then pulling out a bag of biscuits. "If you don't eat, you won't have energy, and you won't be healthy. I want healthy Pokémon, and a healthy Pokémon is a happy Pokémon."

_But I'm not happy. What's your point?_ Cindy thought. Looking at Alyssa's smile really irritated her, as she could easily accuse her of having a happy and simple life so far. The trainer never had to deal with the pain that left Cindy so miserable. The Cyndaquil felt a tug on her lead rope leash and she fell, landing in Alyssa's arms. Shocked, she growled at her, with her annoyance having risen.

"We'll eat a couple biscuits on the go! We have to keep moving." Alyssa stated, stuffing a biscuit into her mouth and handing one to her. Cindy took the biscuit, looked at it for a moment, and didn't even pretend to eat it, throwing it over her shoulder instead, blowing a raspberry as she did so.

"Hey! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" Alyssa shouted, running to where the biscuit had landed. With Cindy under her arm, she picked up the biscuit and wiped off the dirt. She shifted the Fire Mouse to hold her in a cradling position, and offered her the biscuit once again. When Cindy took the biscuit and was deciding on whether or not to throw it again, Alyssa asked, "Do... do you like battling? If you eat, we just might do well in a battle. It won't be a guarantee you'll win, though, but hey, at least you tried your hardest. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?"

Cindy stared at her, still wondering how she still had that perky attitude. She had tried her hardest before in previous battles, but all she ever did was lose in humiliating ways. That led to lack of food for her, with the only times she ever had any was training exercises that she managed to pass; and waffle pieces were her prize. She looked at the biscuit, and wondered what it tasted like. She ate it quickly, and she found that the small bread wasn't too bad.

Alyssa smiled and stroked her head, only pulling back when Cindy tensed up. "Uh... good girl. Now, let's get going!" she exclaimed.

Cindy had been chewing when the soft stroke surprised her. The touch was soft, unlike the frequent grabs that had been Alyssa's staple, or the painful kicks and lashes that Anonimo dished out to her. Recoiling from the touch and nearly forcing her biscuit into the wrong pipe, she felt the trainer's hand pull back, but she still felt uncomfortable. She squirmed until she had her back to the trainer's face, and snarled in a stressful defense, especially as she looked at the ground, and swallowed the remainder of her biscuit.

"CYNDAQUIL!" _Put me down!_ She flared her back flame on Alyssa's face, in an effort to get back onto the grass.

Alyssa, wide-eyed and ash-faced, coughed and set Cindy down. Watching Cindy take her deep breaths, she pinched her eyebrows and forced a smile. She couldn't let this Pokémon get her like her brother and the bullies back home did. Still, she couldn't help but snark, "Great, and you can burn me all day."

This Pokémon may not like her, but Alyssa was determined to get the little grump to perk up, even if the Cyndaquil drove her insane. And Cindy was determined to wipe that smile off of her face, even if the human seemed too cheery to be upset for long. It seemed to be battle of attitudes between them; and there was no telling who would win.


	4. Two Shades of Grey

Alyssa decided to forgo catching any Pokémon until Cindy would obey her. She had tried to catch a Caterpie once; that left her not only roasted by Cindy yet again, but tied up in a String Shot. She silently growled at both the Caterpie crawling away and the Cyndaquil mercilessly mocking her with her squeaky laughing. She wordlessly sat up, and began to pick the webbing off of her clothes and hair.

"So much for catching that Caterpie," she grumbled. "I thought it'd be easy to catch; but a stubborn Cyndaquil can prove quite the obstacle."

She sighed, grabbed the lead rope holding the Cyndaquil, and walked away from the area.

* * *

Her next couple of weeks were pure misery.

It was always a game of tug-of war in the morning, dragging her through the day, Cindy conjuring up some mischief for the poor trainer to stop, and then the evenings consisted of Cindy scrambling up a tree and mocking Alyssa from up there. When night fell, both watched each other until both fell asleep; Alyssa to make sure that Cindy wouldn't run off or cause any midnight mischief; Cindy to seize an opportunity to search for and snatch her Pokeball to smash, ensuring freedom. Alyssa always won the stare-off, because even when the human fell asleep first, Cindy found herself too lazy and tired to do anything. And so, they'd sleep until the next morning, when the cycle was repeated.

No human contact had been made since they had left New Bark, and no help had been available. Alyssa was forced to deal with this angry little Pokémon by herself, and she found herself wondering if it was a good idea to leave a child in charge of a fire-spewing rodent. She could feel her tension rising, and everything inside of her felt tight. The only way she could cope was by losing herself in her own little world.

And her coping method was strange in Cindy's eyes. Every so often, Alyssa would weigh a rock on the lead rope, order Cindy to stay, and then just wander in a space not too far, with both in each other's sights. The human girl would wander and skip and jump, while muttering incoherently. Cindy was usually too dumbstruck to even try to torture her, and leaned back on the rock that held her.

_This is no different than when Anonimo would tie me up, _she thought. Only one attempted battle had happened, but that wasn't the reason Alyssa tethered her. This strange aimless wandering that the girl was doing was even less of a reason than Cindy having lost a battle. It was completely pointless; why would anybody even do that?

She watched as Alyssa did the motions of... throwing something, and then pointing and jumping in place. She was muttering something, and then sprang forward as if she were attacking something. Then, she'd clench her fists and make a motion that seemed like she was forcing something out. The human then pulled a thoughtful face, and either wave her hands over her back, open fists above her head and by her bottom, or feel her neck and growl. Cindy shook her head. What kind of ritual was this human performing?

When Alyssa would grow tired, she'd stroll to her backpack, dig through it, and pull out a notepad and a pencil. She'd go on to sit on a rock and open her notepad. She would tap her head with the pencil, trying to think of something. She'd look around at whatever environment they were in, whether forest or field. Sometimes she'd look straight at Cindy. When her eyes widened in a "Aha" moment, she'd turn her attention to the notepad, and begin scribbling in it. Cindy figured she was doing the mysterious human activity known as "writing," which she had seen Professor Elm and Nurse Joy doing plenty of times.

It was a few of those times where Alyssa would look up at Cindy every so often, then continue the scribbling. The curious action unnerved her, and she often felt like flaring up and threatening her not to look at her like that, and just keep writing. She pondered burning the notepad to ruin Alyssa's mood, and decided to try it one day.

She only got so far as to flare up, alerting Alyssa as to what could happen. That moment lead to Alyssa marching toward her with a sharper glare than Anonimo ever had. For once, instead of taking the challenge and burning the notepad anyway, she was gaping nervously at the clearly angry human.

Alyssa crouched down, and hissed, "Don't. Burn. My. Notebook. _You'll regret it._"

With a whimper, Cindy turned her flames down, in a compliant gesture that said "Don't hurt me." Alyssa understood the gesture completely, and proceeded to place the notepad into her backpack, remove the rock from the lead rope, and then took the rope to lead Cindy on. Her glare had disappeared, and a bright smile had taken its place as she announced, "Okay, let's go! We're burning daylight!"

Cindy was frankly annoyed by the mood swing. _I wasn't seriously afraid of her, was I? _Cindy wondered. _She's just a little girl; she won't hurt me if I remind her who has the superpowers. _

She took the opportunity to launch Swift on Alyssa's hindquarters.

* * *

It was the same scene as every evening: Alyssa stops and rests, and Cindy climbs the tree to avoid her. Alyssa prepared food, set it down at the tree, and called the Cyndaquil to dinner, which was always so vehemently refused. Cindy still had plenty of food; Alyssa was almost out, and the only thing around was trees and a raspberry bush. Alyssa sneered at the raspberries; she didn't have a taste for them.

As she looked at the raspberry bush, she noticed a bowl of Pokémon food fly past her, and land in the bush. She heard a yelp, and immediately she sped to the plant. She looked behind the bush, discovering that Cindy's food dish had nailed a Squirtle right in the head. The little turtle was holding its head, obviously seeing stars.

"Oh my gosh! Are you all right, random Squirtle?" she asked.

Squirtle looked up at her, and nodded. He nonchalantly plucked a raspberry from the bush, and chucked it into his mouth. He looked at the human girl with a combination of awe and confusion. He picked up the bowl and handed it to her, noting all of the tidbits that surrounded him.

"Say... what are you doing in this forest...? Aren't Squirtles Kanto natives?"

Squirtle's eyes widened, and he looked around nervously. He wildly spun as he took in the scenery, and stopped when he saw Cindy in the tree. Stomping his foot, he shouted, "BAW! Squirtle!"

"I'm guessing you got lost."

Squirtle nodded, gathered a bunch of raspberries and some of the Pokémon food, and dropped them in his shell. He saluted Alyssa, and then started marching off into the opposite direction. Alyssa modestly waved at him, wondering if he was going to walk all the way to Kanto, or he was going to find a river that travelled through both regions to swim in. If it was the latter, Alyssa wanted to tell him that Pokémon food wasn't good when soggy.

With the odd meeting out of the way, it was now time for arguing with her Cyndaquil. So, she stood up, bowl in hand, and marched back to the tree. She looked up, and started scolding, "Cindy, this is ridiculous. Come down here right now!"

Cindy turned her nose upward, which Alyssa knew would happen. Groaning, she added, "Look, we've been at this for two weeks! Shouldn't we develop a new routine?"

_Not in your life, weirdo,_ Cindy thought.

"You're not even gonna answer? What's with you? You've been dissing me ever since we met!"

_Not just you._

"Can't we just be friends?"

_No thanks. Sounds like a waste of my time._

"Ugh. You have some serious issues, Cind."

_One of them is you._

"Maybe if you just give me a chance... we...we could be best buddies!"

_Maybe if you didn't stutter, I'd understand you better._

Cindy blew a raspberry at Alyssa, who jumped. "Did you just blow a raspberry at me?! AGH! You're so stubborn!"

"Excuse me, young miss, but you seem to be having a problem."

Alyssa spun around to see a teenage boy, who had tan skin with spiky dark brown hair. His eyes squinted and he wore an orange shirt with a green vest. With him were a boy and a girl, about the same age as she was. The boy was wearing a cap, but Alyssa could see he had black hair. His eyes were brown, thought they seemed almost black. He wore a black shirt and a blue vest, and jeans as well. She noticed a Pikachu on his shoulder. The girl was a redhead, with a little ponytail off to the side of her head. She wore a yellow sleeveless top and blue shorts with red suspenders. Her eyes were blue-green, and she carried a Togepi in her arms.

Alyssa sighed. "Well, yes. Cindy's being a stubborn thing."

Cindy growled. _So I'm a thing now? You hypocrite!_

The squinty-eyed boy nodded. "Well, what have you done to get her upset with you?"

"I wish I knew, mister... uh, what's your name?"

"The name's Brock, and my friends and I have noticed your plight."

"Okay... and what are their names?"

The other boy with the Pikachu stepped forward, saying, "I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town! And this is my partner, Pikachu."

Pikachu beamed. "Pika pika!"

The redhead then said, "And my name is Misty, and this is Togepi."

Alyssa kicked at the dust, avoiding eye contact with the three. "My name's Alyssa."

Ash looked up in the tree. "Is Cindy your Pokémon?"

"Yeah, and not a very obedient one. She's been mean to me ever since I got her. She's been doing all kinds of things like biting me, throwing stuff at me, attacking me, you know, Pokémon stuff."

"Really? You seem like a nice girl to me."

"Pikachu."

Brock looked at the glaring Cindy and scratched his chin. "Hm, well, you must be fireproof because that's a Cynda-"

Cindy interrupted him by exhaling a Flamethrower on him, finishing his sentence with a shrill, "QUIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLL!" Alyssa and the other two leaped back, stunned because Brock had done nothing to provoke her. Once the attack was done, Brock was sitting on the ground, with a look on his face that was partly upset about the surprise attack, and partly amazed at the power that Cindy held.

"...okay... you're really fireproof..."

"Hey!" Ash shouted. "That wasn't nice! What did he ever do to you?"

Cindy made a face and him and protested, "Cyn-Da-QUIL!"

"I guess I'm not alone on her list of people she hates for no reason," Alyssa sighed. "Yeah, I don't understand it. Cyndaquil are supposed to be the most docile and timid of the starters. She's the exact opposite, as she's stubborn, rude, and very forward about how she feels. And all she ever feels is anger."

_Calling me one-dimensional? _Cindy thought. _You guys are a bunch of clueless idiots._

"Like Misty?"

Misty turned to him and snapped, "I am not angry all the time! Whatever gave you that idea?!"

"Guys... don't encourage her..." Alyssa said cautiously.

"Toge-toge-prrri!" Togepi waved to Cindy.

Brock stood up, brushing himself off, and said, "Maybe she has something against humans. After all, we just met and she found me fit to barbecue."

_Whatever gave you that idea? _Cindy thought, spitting fire at a leaf.

Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder and began to climb the tree. Ash watched as the Mouse Pokémon ascended the tree, and he asked, "Hey, Pikachu, what are you doing?"

Pikachu turned to him, pointed upward and replied, "Pika Pikachu."

"Oh... do you think Cindy will mind if Pikachu talks to her? Maybe he can convince her you're not so bad."

"I dunno..." Alyssa mumbled. "Maybe... I hope he can reason with her... she'll most likely understand another Pokémon better. She was convinced not to start another grassfire after a Diglett scolded her for one a couple of weeks ago."

Pikachu winced at the sound of the grassfire, but then he nodded and continued his ascent. Cindy was wary about the Electric-Type climbing to her perch, as she was aware of his acquaintance with those humans, especially since he had been riding on one of their shoulders. She crossed her arms and grinded her teeth as Pikachu reached her branch and greeted, _"Hey, what's up?"_

Cindy turned her back to him and snarled, _"Back off, human lover."_

Pikachu put his paws up in defense and said, _"Take it easy. From what I've heard, it sounds like you've been giving your trainer a rough time._

_"So?"_

_"So, I think you should give Alyssa a chance."_

_"A chance? Why, so she could hurt me and never consider my feelings at all?"_

_"No, so you can become friends. I've been in a rough patch with my trainer when we started, and we ended up being very close."_

Cindy spun around on her heel and stormed over to Pikachu. She blew some smoke in his face, which threw him into a coughing fit while trying to fan the smoke away. Seeing that the yellow Pokémon was occupied, she attempted to push him off. Pikachu felt the push, and thinking quickly, he jumped out of the way before she gave him one hard shove that would have sent him tumbling to the ground. Cindy nearly fell off herself after Pikachu's escape, and barely caught herself.

Pikachu had his arms crossed and tapped his foot, glaring at her. He quickly uncrossed his arms as he exclaimed, _"What was that for?! I tried to be nice!"_

_"Pff, as if. You're just trying to brainwash me into your human-loving cult! What kind of friend is a human?! They're not very nice, they never have been, and they never will be! I cannot believe that you haven't figured it out already!"_

Pikachu stood up, his cheeks tingling with electricity. _"I am not brainwashed! Ash is genuinely my friend, and not only am I happy to be his Pokémon, but so are his other Pokémon! It seems to me that you're just stubborn! What is your problem?"_

If Cindy's eyes had been open, it would have been obvious that she had rolled them. _"My problem is that I'm either surrounded by idiots or jerks. You might be a third option that I haven't named yet."_

_"So you're just petty?" _Pikachu asked, sparks beginning to erupt from his red cheeks.

Cindy stared at the sparks that threatened to morph into a Thunderbolt. With a chuckle, she strode toward him, patted his back, and sneered, _"That electricity thing you're doing? That's cute."_

Before Pikachu knew it, Cindy had kicked him off the branch, with him landing on Alyssa's head. He accidentally let out a bolt of electricity on her, which lead to the girl being shocked and crumpling into a frazzled heap on the ground. Pikachu, realizing what had just happened, hopped off Alyssa and sputtered out, "Pika!" _Sorry!_

The others gasped and gaped at the wide-eyed shock that Alyssa held.

"Are you okay, Alyssa?" Misty asked.

Alyssa, stunned from the electricity, stuttered, "So... so... t-t-that's what being electrocuted fee-feels like..."

Rubbing the back of his head, he glanced at the smug Cyndaquil snickering and leaning against the trunk. He certainly didn't expect Cindy to just brush off his electricity long enough to actually kick him off. And her behavior rang more than one familiar tune with him. Sighing and shaking his head, he thought, _Things aren't going to improve with that attitude of yours..._

* * *

**A/N: And this is the part where you abandon ship and the story will go downhill. Anime characters? Bah, the story is RUINED! Hahaha, I'm just teasing. In all seriousness, I do admit, I was a little nervous about writing this chapter... but hey, I think it's better than the first draft. XD**

**But, really, in what direction do you think the story will go with these guys appearing? Well, I'll just say that, no, Alyssa and Cindy are NOT going to travel with them. That would really sour things, ya know. So, sit back, and we'll see if I can pull this off. Remember to R&R, I get bored without it. ;p**


	5. When Tempers Collide

Alyssa stared at the bowl of stew that sat in her lap. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of it, and she imagined a spicy and meaty taste very close to the scent. Despite her rumbling stomach and watering mouth, she didn't want to eat it. She willingly held back, hoping that the stew would just transform into something more appealing for her. She glanced at her new acquaintances, with Brock stirring the stew a bit more, and Misty and Ash happily eating it from their own bowls. Pikachu and Togepi nibbled at their own treats.

Then she turned her head and glanced at Cindy in the tree, who had her back to them. Once again she heard the Cyndaquil's stomach rumbling, and a displeased groan. Alyssa sighed, shaking her head.

"What's the matter? Aren't you going to eat?"

Alyssa jerked her head back at the sound of Ash's voice. Before she could answer, Misty stated, "You're worried about Cindy, aren't you?"

Alyssa nodded with a muttered, "Yeah." Her answer was technically a half-truth, because her real reason that she wasn't eating was that she _hated_ stew. In fact, it was just one thing on a long list of foods she hated. Looking at the worried bunch, she felt guilty for not informing them of her pickiness, and remembered how one grandmother had forced her to eat things she didn't enjoy, ignoring her protests and telling her she'd die of starvation. Her other grandmother, while spoiling her on that issue, constantly reminded her that it was impolite to flat out refuse to eat a meal that someone had worked hard to make, even if she didn't like it. So, with all eyes on her, she shoved a spoonful into her mouth.

It was well made, she could tell, and it was a meal she could hold down, unlike those pickled beets she was fed once. If any of her family were watching, they'd be bugging her for eating something that she professed to have hated. For some reason, her trying something was a matter of celebration. She made sure to pick out the vegetables in the stew, which she preferred over meat. She dreaded the moment where she ran out of things she liked, and had to come up with an excuse to not finish the rest.

Continuing her meal, she absentmindedly muttered, "Brock's a good cook."

"Why, thank you very much, Miss!" Brock said, swelling with pride.

She picked off the last of the vegetables, and then looked at Cindy in the tree. Humming, she said, "I wonder how'd she like it... do Cyndaquil eat meat? I know Typhlosion do..."

Cindy tensed up at the mention of that beast. She certainly had never eaten meat, and if that stupid evolved form of hers did, she might as well be a vegetarian.

"What's a Typhlosion?" Ash asked.

"Cyndaquil's final evolved form, after Quilava," Alyssa answered. "You're in Johto, there are plenty of trainers with those Pokémon."

"Cyndaquil _is_ a starter in this region," Misty said. "We might run into one of those trainers."

"Not to mention those with the evolved forms of Chikorita and Totodile," Brock added.

Misty clasped her hands together and grinned. "I would definitely love to see what Totodile evolves into! I bet it evolves into an amazing Water Type!"

"Oh, its evolved forms are Croconaw and Feraligatr. And yes, they're pretty cool," Alyssa said. "But... I'm more fond of Fire Types... since I, well, grew up around Rapidash. Had my family stayed in Kanto, I'd have a Charmander companion right now, and so would my brother... well, maybe it'd be fully evolved into Charizard by now. But we moved to Johto, and he never really took to the Johto starters. I, on the other hand, fell in love with Cyndaquil when I first saw it, since it's an adorable shy furball! Though I must admit, the flames that came out of its back startled me! But, I still had my mind set on it!"

"Cindy wasn't what you expected, huh?" Ash remarked.

"Nope... like I said, she's the exact opposite of typical 'Quil behavior," Alyssa growled. Glancing at Pikachu, she then asked, "Hey, Ash, can I hold Pikachu?"

"Sure," Ash replied. Turning to his Pokémon, he inquired, "Is that all right with you, buddy?"

"Pikachu," Pikachu said cheerfully. He let Alyssa set her bowl aside, hopped onto her lap and sat down, going along with Alyssa's expected actions of petting him. His face showed delight when Alyssa started scratching behind his ear, and he tilted his head as she scratched the spot, cooing, "Pikaaa!"

"He's so cute!" Alyssa said, clearly enjoying petting him. "How'd you catch him?"

"Actually, I started my journey with him!" Ash said, grinning.

Alyssa had a confused look on her face. "I didn't know you could start with a Pikachu in Pallet Town. I've always thought it was just Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle." Her mind flashed back to the lost and confused Squirtle she met earlier that day, and started wondering how far it had gone by now.

"Well, you see, I..." Ash began, his face turning red.

Misty interrupted him. "He woke up late. At least that's what I've been told."

Alyssa had a blank look on her face. "Late, huh? I guess there were three other trainers who already took the starters, so you were given Pikachu?"

"That's right. Although...we weren't off to a good start..." Ash said, obviously embarrassed. He glanced at Pikachu, who also had a bit of an embarrassment etched onto his face.

"Pika Pika." _I remember._

"Did he electrocute you?" Alyssa asked.

"Yeah, he did, and kept doing it for awhile. I've had to wear rubber gloves and pull him by a clothesline, since he hated his Pokeball. He climbed a tree and laughed at me when I tried to catch a Pidgey and found a Rattata in my bag! It was not fun..."

Alyssa nodded, with Cindy's constant attacks, the refusal to be in the Pokeball, her fireproof lead rope, encounter with the mischievous Sentret, and Cindy guffawing from her spot in the tree coming to mind.

Ash's face began to brighten. "But after a flock of Spearow attacked us, we became best buddies! Right, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu replied with enthusiasm. He glanced up at the tree, and his face fell in exasperation.

Alyssa looked to where Pikachu had looked, which was Cindy in the tree. The latter had been listening to Ash and Pikachu's tale, and was shaking her head in grouchy disbelief. She turned her back, unconvinced of the story she had just heard. "Quil."

"How long did it take you two to become friends?" Alyssa asked dubiously.

"Uh... a day?" Ash said, rubbing the back of his head.

Alyssa crossed her arms, and grouchily said, "We've been at this for two weeks, especially since she hates her Pokeball too."

The others jumped in surprise. The thought of this girl handling an angry Fire Type Pokémon for two weeks frightened them. Cindy harboring a dislike of her Pokeball as strong as Pikachu's-perhaps even stronger-didn't help Alyssa's case. How many times did she deal with a Flamethrower? Was there any improvement in their relationship at all?

"Two weeks?! By now you should've been friends!" Brock shouted.

"Wow, you were right when you said she was stubborn!" Misty exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know. I've tried to convince her that I'm not that bad a person. A little silly, perhaps, but still pretty good. She just Flamethrowers me no matter what, not to mention a grassfire she created just to torture me when we first started," Alyssa explained.

"Maybe I can talk some sense into her!" Ash said, running to the tree. Looking up, he cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, "Hey, Cindy! Why don't you come down and get to know your trainer? She's a very nice person!"

"Be careful..." Alyssa said, biting her lip.

"Cynda?" Cindy looked at the goofy kid below her with complete disdain. Groaning, she thought, _Yet another goof. His turn to be burned._ She inhaled deeply and let out yet another powerful flamethrower. It hit Ash from above and engulfed him. The other three gaped as they heard Ash holler as he was burned. When it ended, his entire body was burned from head to toe, and he fell flat on the grass, groaning.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu hopped off Alyssa's lap and ran to Ash to see if he was okay. He stroked his trainer's hair, and shot an upward glare at Cindy, his cheeks tingling with electrical sparks.

"Wow..." Ash murmured. "That was really hot... almost like my Charizard's Flamethrower..."

Alyssa also ran over to him, sighing with exasperation. "I told you to be careful. She's got a nasty temper."

Cindy snickered at what she did, looking at the shock that filled the boy's face. It was a fresh look that contrasted with the now seasoned expression that Alyssa had held as of late. She had been missing the wide-eyed horror that came with the realization that this Cyndaquil was not one of those weak ones that suffered from sputtering flames. Adding to her pride was that Ash had mentioned that her power rivaled a Charizard's! It was quite satisfying to remind herself that no human would hurt her as long as she threatened them. If only she could have proved that to Anonimo months before.

At that moment, she tried to shift her weight, but noticed her foot was stuck to a wad of tree sap. She growled, and pulled once, but it was in vain. Pulling harder, she started to grunt with her effort, but she sprung back into place and her bottom fell onto the wood of the branch. Standing up and rubbing her aching hindquarters, she started pulling harder at her foot, but it wouldn't budge. Once her leg began to ache from the strain, she grabbed the sticky foot with both paws and tugged at it. _Come on, foot, move!_

She didn't even notice the others staring at her, seeing her face turn red as if her head was about to burst. When she finally pulled her foot free, she felt the fur on the bottom of her foot rip off, and she yelped in pain. Adding to her misfortune, she discovered that she had tugged so hard she lost her balance. She soon found herself tumbling down the tree, squealing in terror. The dream of falling off the cliff after flying through the forest flashed in her mind.

She heard someone yell, "Yikes!" The next moment she found herself in the arms of another, and tensed up, expecting to be dropped. She looked up at the one who caught her, who just happened to be her trainer. Cindy glowered at her, with a million insults and curses flashing through her mind as she seethed.

"That's some way to come down." Alyssa stated.

Cindy started throwing a tantrum and kicked wildly to make Alyssa let go. She didn't think to try to burn Alyssa; the girl was too used to it, and barely showed any surprise anymore. She threw punches, snarled and bit at any assistance for Alyssa, and even spat out some fire to keep the other humans and Pikachu back. All the shouting was muffled in her ears, and she had squeezed out some hot tears in her rage-filled squirming. She soon loosened the trainer's grip enough to jump out of her arms, but she landed face first in the dirt with a thud.

Alyssa's mouth formed a tight line, and she breathed heavily as she tried to keep her cool. Then, she managed to spit out, "What is wrong with you?"

Brock rubbed the back of his head, his squinted eyes resting on the angry Cyndaquil sprawled out on the ground. He was looking at her from her right, and watched as the Cyndaquil began to lift herself up on all fours. He idly looked at her limbs as they trembled under her weight. He thought about telling Alyssa to keep her cool, but he forgot about that thought when he noticed a pink line on her right arm. He crouched down, and crawled forward to get a closer look. His inspection of her arm revealed that the pink line was a strip of furless skin, which seemed to be nothing but scar tissue. It looked like a recent wound, but too old for Alyssa to have caused in in any way.

Cindy glanced at him, and flared her back to warn him to stay away. However, he seemed to be fixed on her arm. She didn't need to glance down at it to know what he was staring it. She attempted to cover it, but stumbled into the dirt once again.

Brock stood up, and turned to Alyssa. "Did you notice that scar on her right arm within the past two weeks?"

"Huh?" Alyssa muttered. She turned to the Cyndaquil lying down, and crouched down to look closer than she had a chance to before. There it was, in all its pink glory, like Brock said. Her brow furrowing in concern, she said, "I didn't notice that before... how... how did she get that?"

Ash and Misty looked at it as well, their mouths forming into Os. As Cindy stood up, she grew uncomfortable with the stares they were giving her, and she immediately covered it with her left paw. She growled again, but it was feebler than her past snarls. Her heart sank as she realized that they weren't afraid of her, but starting to pity her.

"What happened there?" Ash said, his eyebrows knitting. "How'd she hurt her arm?"

"You don't think somebody could've given that to her?" Misty said, holding Togepi closer to her body.

Pikachu stepped closer, and asked, _"Is your anger just a cover?"_

Cindy's heart skipped a beat. The scar was impossible to hide. It was something that wasn't noticed until closer inspection, so she had opted to stay far from prying eyes. But now, they were too close, and saw the scar. They asked questions. Memories of that storm came flooding back, and the sting of the sharp whip wielded by the strong arm fueled by anger overtook her once again. She turned her head away from them, looking at the scar, a reminder of the past that she wanted to forget. Her breaths were shallow, and she started wishing it was gone.

"Cindy, what happened? Who did this to you?" Alyssa queried, taking Cindy's paw into her hand and looking at the pink flesh in muted horror.

Cindy swiped her paw from Alyssa's hand and spat fire at her feet. She tried to feign being angry, but by now the tears were freely flowing, and all her pride dissolved as the faces of horror and pity stared at her. Choking out sobs, she couldn't stand the eyes on her, seeing just how weak she was and how weak she always will be. Overwhelmed by the unwanted attention, she spun around and bolted into the forest, tears springing out of her eyes.

"Wait, come back!" Alyssa said, taking off after her while the others stared.

They were quiet for a moment, unsure of what to think or do. Ash and Misty then turned their heads toward Brock as he said, "That explains why she didn't want anything to do with humans."

The other two nodded, the implications sinking in. Any other questions about the Fire Mouse did not come to mind as they tried to imagine what she had gone through to become so bitter. Ash looked at Pikachu, who was just as unsure of this whole situation as his trainer was.

"Come on," Ash said. "We've got to follow!"

Brock shook his head. "No, Ash. Something tells me this is between Alyssa and Cindy. They need to work this out between each other."

* * *

Cindy ran as fast as she could, not wanting to turn back. _It's not fair! It's not fair! They don't know what I've been through!_ she thought, thinking of Anonimo and the times he mistreated her. She could feel the pain all over again, and her arm felt raw as she remembered the blood that had gush out. She jumped over rocks, dodged trees, and slid herself under fallen logs. However, she tripped on a root and found herself with another face full of dirt. She bit her lip, her tears soaking the dirt and her fur. _I didn't want this! I didn't want another trainer!_

She sprang back up and started running again, heavy, sputtering breaths wheezing out with each sob. Each wipe of her eyes brought forth a muddy residue on her paws, thanks to the dirt that covered her face when she fell. Her heart was aching and pounding, as if she didn't have enough pain already. All of the physical pain, aside from her stinging foot, was imagined, but her heartache was all too real.

She finally slowed to a stop near the edge of a creek. She caught her breath, and glanced back, thinking she had ditched them. She stumbled to a nearby boulder, leaned against it, and sobbed. Her muted squeaks choked on the lump in her throat, and her eyes burns with the salty tears. _Why me? Why me? Why me? _Those words rang over and over in her head as she cried. There were so many she wanted to blame; Anonimo for causing this pain, those humans behind her who reminded her, Professor Elm for forcing her into this new life, or fate for throwing her into the Anonimo situation in the first place.

Alyssa had finally caught up with her to see the Cyndaquil weeping against a large rock, with her back toward her. For what reason, she did not know exactly; but she realized it may have to do with the scar on Cindy's arm. She sat down on the grass, cross-legged, and watched her, not knowing what to do. This Cyndaquil had been hurt somehow, and wasn't ready to accept a new trainer. Alyssa started wondering whether it had been wise of her to just take Cindy, despite Professor Elm's warnings, and try to train her. Cindy was sour because she had been hurt. With these thoughts rolling in her head, she sighed loudly.

Cindy heard the sigh, dried her tears, and spun around, seeing Alyssa sitting there. Alyssa jumped when the Fire Mouse suddenly turned toward her. Expecting yet another attack from her, the human girl took a deep breath. Her eyes moved from side to side, and she smiled sheepishly, muttering a simple "Hi."

"Cyndaquil cynda?!" _Why'd you follow me?!_ Cindy spat out her phrase in heated contempt, her brow furrowing as she realized that she hadn't lost any of the humans. Her breaths were still shallow as the two exchanged their stares, except her sobs were turning into anger. How long would it be when those three stooges and the electric rat followed her?

"What? I can't sit here and watch you cry? I'm not generally a big fan of crying, but still..." Alyssa said.

The rage that was building up inside Cindy was getting ready to burst. Memories came running back, resuming the heartbreak and the ghosts of the pain that held her body for so long inside that Pokeball. Her tears seemed to evaporate with her rising anger, a sensation all too familiar to her. Her racing heart increased the pain of her aching heart, and the spots on her back were heating up.

"Don't be so mad, please, I don't see why you need to hate _all_ of humanity," Alyssa pleaded.

Cindy's eyes welled up with tears, but she still got angrier and angrier. Her anger was enough to have her vision awash with red and blurred, whether or not her tears were present. _Go away...I don't want you! I don't need you! I don't need any human! You're all the same!_ she thought.

Her spots were hotter than ever, and they glowed with a strange light that Alyssa stared at in awe, unsure of what to say next.

_YOU WON'T HURT ME!_

Alyssa watched as Cindy's back burst into a brilliant blue flame, which gave the forest around them an eerie light. Alyssa never thought that a Cyndaquil's squeal would frighten her; but the shrill screech that Cindy made was haunting, much like a banshee's, which made Alyssa stumble backwards into the dirt, gasping for breath. At that same moment, Cindy fired a Flamethrower. The human girl laid down flat on the ground and rolled away, allowing the flames to hit the trees that were behind her. Panting, she looked at the trees, which had been burnt to a crisp. She looked back to the furious Cyndaquil in front of her.

"Cindy, stop it! Why are you doing this?!" she cried out.

Cindy let loose another flamethrower, with Alyssa barely dodging it. She could smell the smoke that now billowed from the burning trees, and she coughed when she breathed some of it in. Seeing another Flamethrower coming her way, Alyssa ran and jumped across the thinner, shallow part of the creek, where she managed to dodge more flamethrowers that the blue-fired Pokémon threw her way. She ducked, she jumped, she rolled, and she sidestepped. It amazed her how long she was surviving this attack. She knew that blue fire was hotter than orange fire, as could feel the heat against her skin, and she swore she could see her hands turning red just from being so close.

"Stop it right now!" she screamed as she ducked again. Of all the things she read about Cyndaquil, the ability to emit blue fire was something that wasn't mentioned. Even if she didn't remember details about the Cyndaquil diet, Alyssa would remember an entry about blue fire. That was when she remembered the news a couple months back. The news about the frenzied Cyndaquil with blue fire that seriously injured many people. Her current situation and those news clicked.

"It's you," she whispered.

* * *

Squirtle finally got the last of the soggy Pokémon food out of his shell, and had all of his raspberries washed. He counted himself lucky to have found his favorite fruit, but not so lucky in picking up Pokémon food which was not good in water. He realized that was a mistake, and maybe should have eaten some near that bush. After all, that girl's Cyndaquil didn't want it, and the human girl herself didn't seem to mind that he took some.

He scratched his head. He didn't know much about Cyndaquil; just that they were Fire Type Johto Pokémon. He heard they were timid, but the one he saw looked angry. He didn't know why, really. The trainer looked nice, and was concerned about a Pokémon that wasn't even hers. If he had a trainer, he'd like one that was nice like she was, although he wasn't sure about her training method. She was certainly younger than those adults he had always seen.

From the corner of his eye, he could see the girl and her Cyndaquil. He turned his head curiously, surprised to see them again. But the scene that he saw them in made him fall into the water in shock. Poking his head from the deeper part of the stream, his eyes widened as they took in the scene before him. A furious Cyndaquil, with hauntingly beautiful azure flames, was spewing blue Flamethrowers at the panicky little girl. He could see the girl was frightened, and frantically evading each of the attacks, which only frustrated the Cyndaquil. Among them, trees were burning or already burnt to a crisp.

He shuddered, still watching the scene before him. He had no idea that fire could be blue. He had always associated the color blue with water, and he wondered if the fire was cooler. However, some of the trees he saw had been roasted quickly, and he could felt the heat from the fire in the air from where his head was exposed. Even the water felt a little warm. It was still hot, he knew, and he started thinking that it could be hotter than normal.

His heart pounded as he watched the continued attacks on the helpless trainer. He looked around, wondering if there were any other Water Types around. To his dismay, he was the only one there. He was hesitant to do the job alone, and fear had a tight grip on his heart. He wanted to stay in the water, where he knew he was safe. However, looking at the innocent and frightened face of the girl, he realized that being a witness who didn't lift a finger was just as bad as attacking her.

Gulping, he jumped out of the water and started spraying Water Gun everywhere, with a drawn out spray aimed at Cyndaquil. The fires were put out, and the rage-filled Cyndaquil felt the Water Gun on her side. Ceasing her attacks on the human, Cindy turned to face her attacked, and growled ferociously.

_"Did you just attack me?!"_ Cindy snapped.

_"Yes,"_ Squirtle answered, trying to maintain his wavering glare. _"Why are you attacking this girl?"_

_"HUMANS ARE THE ENEMY! AND IF YOU ARE PROTECTING HER, THEN YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS THEY ARE!"_ Cindy yelled.

Before Squirtle could respond, she Flamethrowered him. It surprised him how strong and hot this attack was, and he could already feel himself burning. He felt his feet forced off the ground and sending him flying back, with the flames pushing him toward a tree. Once he hit the tree, his shell hit the bark, and a loud crack could be heard behind him. At first, he worried that his shell had been broken, but then he felt himself tumbling backward with the tree as it toppled behind him. The impact shook him, and he rolled off the fallen tree and fell onto the dirt. He laid there, eyes wide with shock, and breathless. He did not expect that.

Harsh burns and dizziness accompanied Squirtle as he struggled to get up. He felt searing pains in his arms and legs, as well as his chin. His sight was fuzzy, and he felt queasy. Clutching his stomach, he forced himself up, and forced himself to look at the still seething Fire Type. He was amazed at her power, but not pleased at the way she wielded it. He tried to resist feeling pathetic for losing against a Fire Type. So, lifting his voice, he spat out, _"Some monster you are! Attacking a human based on your poor judgment!"_

Enraged at hearing him say this, Cindy roared back, _"I have poor judgment?! No, **you** do, you stupid turtle!" _

Cindy was ready to use another attack, one that would be the final blow. Alyssa, who had been watching the whole time, realized this and ran across the stream, ignoring her suddenly wet shoes. Then, without thinking, she pulled out a Pokeball and threw it at Squirtle as Cindy was coming after him with a intense Flame Wheel. The Pokeball hit him on the head, and he turned into a beam of energy and went in.

Cindy crashed into another tree, and jumped back onto her feet. She looked around, wondering where Squirtle went. Then she noticed the twitching Pokeball. It stopped moving, making a strange echoing PING sound. She watched as Alyssa walked over to the Pokeball and picked it up. She turned to Cindy, looking at her, the fear gone from her eyes. Now there was a combination of anger and disappointment.

Right there, Alyssa blew her top, unleashing her pent up rage at her disobedient Pokémon. She began to roar, "Cyndaquil, it's bad enough that you attacked me, but you had to go and attack another Pokémon! Just because it decided to defend me?!"

Cindy jumped at the rage filled voice Alyssa was using and the expression she held on her face. Her flame went from blue to orange, and then turned off, as her anger was replaced with fear. She trembled, unable to ignore the verbal smackdown that the trainer was giving her.

"This whole time, I've been trying to be your friend!" Alyssa spat, her hazel eyes dark with anger. "But what do you do?! You burn me repeatedly, ignore everything I say, and get mad at me for the dumbest reasons! I've been holding in most of my anger this whole time, trying to be nice! And now, you attack me, with your fancy blue flames, and when a Squirtle decides to help me, you turn on him and nearly kill him! What kind of Cyndaquil are you if you get angrier than a...a... TYPHLOSION?! Agh, or maybe even a Gyarados for all I know!"

Cindy listened to the whole thing, surprised at the fright Alyssa's anger was giving her. None of it made her angry, but it hit her like a ton of bricks that Alyssa wasn't the problem. She had never been the problem in the first place. It was Cindy herself. She had been caught up in her idea of what a human was, she was willing to pummel a Squirtle, who probably wasn't blinded by anger as she was. She felt herself growing heavy with shame, and looked at the scene around her. She listened to the immense fury and frustration in Alyssa's voice, which was more than any anger that had been displayed the past two weeks.

Alyssa glared, still unmoving. "If you don't want me as a trainer, fine! I don't want a murderer for a Pokémon anyway! Just don't hurt anyone else in your monstrous fury!"

Alyssa turned her back and stormed off back to camp. She had never felt this angry, not even at her brother, not even at her sister Allison, and not even at her bullies. At least none of them had tried to kill her or anyone who tried to defend her. She breathed heavily through her clenched teeth, not believing that whatever had caused the Cyndaquil harm was a valid excuse for the Pokémon's dreadful behavior.

However, as she walked, her heart began to sink in sorrow. Alyssa began crying softly, shaken by her loss of temper. She imagined the lowered opinion that Cindy now had of her, thanks to her explosion. Wiping her eyes, she thought, _Now we'll never be friends..._

Cindy watched as Alyssa walked off, horrified at the anger that Alyssa had displayed and spat. She could handle the periodic grumpiness and frustration that the human showed, only for her to turn around and be grinning again. But now, Cindy was suspecting that she wasn't holding back with her words, and each of her words were painfully true. She climbed up on the boulder she was leaning on earlier and sat down. She pondered about what Alyssa just said to her, and the complete sincerity of her anger. She bit her lip. The words Squirtle told her were mixed in with those thoughts.

_"Some __monster, am I?__" _she muttered, her lip trembling.

Cindy rocked back and forth, trying to refrain from crying. She wasn't going to cry because of this girl, she wasn't! She already had cried over one human, she didn't need to do another. But she couldn't help but think Anonimo was no excuse for her awful behavior towards Alyssa, as well as those other humans. There was no excuse for her crazy blue fire mode. Once Squirtle got involved, it was clear that she had gone too far.

Her efforts to avoid crying failed.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry it took so long to get this up. I've been busy with some other stuff, and I wasn't sure how to write this. **

**But, anyway, it looks like relationships are pretty sour right now. I'm guessing you were expecting Ash and co. to run in during the blue fire scene and try to stop her or something. You're all like, "Come on! Misty's a Water Type trainer! She'd be a big help!" I don't know what they're looking at offscreen (maybe some random Pokémon they've never seen before, I don't know). **

**But, hey, Alyssa caught a Squirtle! Woohoo! XD**

**Okay, okay, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, be patient for the next one, blah blah blah, R&R. ;)**


	6. Too Many Messes

At first, Alyssa was reluctant to walk back to camp in fear of the other three seeing her. Crying at home was no problem; but in front of people who aren't family? The thought made her head sink into her shirt. She silently wished that her mother was there to soothe her, but what did she know about dealing with traumatized Fire Types? None of the Rapidash ever had a meltdown like Cindy did, let alone tried to kill anyone.

Alyssa looked at the Pokeball in her hand. She should have been overjoyed to have captured her first Pokémon, but she still felt awful for the angry words that had she had smacked Cindy with. The hot tears kept running again as she reviewed the events leading up to her snapping at the Cyndaquil. Grinding her teeth, her thoughts contradicted her heart.

_She had it coming! She was a bigger jerk than my brother ever was! I hate that little mean rat! _Alyssa backed up into a tree, and fell onto her bottom. She buried her face into her knees, and the tears flowed with her shallow breaths. Her mind was angry, but her heart was full of sorrow.

"Alyssa?"

Alyssa's head jerked up with a start. Ash, Brock, and Misty stood in front of her, concern etched into their features. Pikachu was beside her, rubbing his paw on one of her hands. Blinking, she wondered if she had been close enough for them to hear her, and why they even cared. They barely even knew her, and yet they wanted to know what was wrong, even if they hadn't said it directly.

"What happened?" Ash asked. "Where's Cindy?"

Alyssa looked away, answering embitteredly, "Still in the forest. She's made it clear that she hates me."

"Hate you?! Why would she hate you? You're really nice!"

Brock shook his head. "It's more complicated than that, Ash."

"Yeah," Misty sighed. "Remember the scar on her arm? That points to mistreatment."

Ash leapt to his feet. "I can't believe there are people like that!" he yelled. "Whoever did that to Cindy has no idea how to treat a Pokémon! Anybody who hurts Pokémon like that doesn't deserve to be a trainer!"

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted.

"You certainly have that right," Brock boomed. "But the problem is, Cindy is Alyssa's _starter._"

Misty grimaced. "You don't think Professor Elm had anything to do with it, do you?"

"Now, wait a minute!" Alyssa exclaimed. "You can't seriously be blaming Professor Elm for Cindy's attitude do you?! None of the other starters that have been given out over the years have turned out like her! Not to mention I've met him, and he's pretty nice! There has to be another explanation!"

"We've met him, too, and he doesn't mistreat the Pokémon," Ash said.

"Well, I suggest you ask him about it, Alyssa," Brock said. "It could help you understand Cindy's situation."

Alyssa's face dropped back into her knees. "Maybe it could, if she was still here. Ugh, I'm such a terrible trainer! I don't deserve to own one..."

Pikachu scratched his head and sighed. "Pikachu..."

"Don't say that, Alyssa!" Ash exclaimed. "After all the nice things you did, there's no way that a Pokémon could be mean to you for long! I betcha Cindy will march out of that forest and be glad to be your Pokémon!"

Alyssa stood up and marched back to the camp a few meters away. Shaking her head, she replied, "Nah, she's just another one of those things in the world that hates me... after all, I am a 'weirdo'. She won't ever come back, and even if she does, nothing will change." She sat on the log and started sketching in the dirt, unaware that the others were sitting down beside her. "She'll still be as mean as always, and burn me, and mock me, and whatnot. Hmph, hopefully my Squirtle will be on my side."

"Wait, when'd you catch a Squirtle?" Misty asked.

"Just barely. Poor thing got in the way of Cindy's wrath. I had to save it."

"But... Cyndaquil's a Fire Type... it shouldn't do well against Water..."

"Well, she's more powerful than I thought!" Alyssa stamped out the drawing in the dirt with her foot. "It seems like the universe is trying to make me miserable by giving me an angry little Fire Type with too much power! I had to yell at her to get her to stop her stupid little rampage! You wouldn't believe how hot her fire was!"

"How hot?" Ash asked.

Before Alyssa could tell them about the blue fire, a robotic arm descended from the sky and grabbed Pikachu. Alyssa jumped when that happened, and nearly sputtered out a word of surprise when the arm climbed back up its path of descent, with a squirming Pikachu desperately trying to wriggle free.

"Pika Pi!" he shouted.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

The arm pulled up into a hot air balloon shaped like a Meowth. A man with blue hair and a woman with red hair, both wearing white outfits with a red "R" on it, were laughing as they shoved Pikachu into a glass container. They looked down at the children below, drinking in the scowls of Ash, Brock, and Misty, and the utter confusion of Alyssa.

Alyssa shot to her feet and asked, "Who are they?"

"It's Team Rocket!" the other three shouted.

Alyssa looked at the other three curiously, and then at the duo in the Meowth balloon. She grew more and more confused as they began to speak.

"Prepare for trouble!" the woman said.

"And make it double," the man said.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

A Meowth hopped up onto the edge of the basket and said, "Meowth, that's right!"

Alyssa stared for a moment, and then looked at the others, trying to discern whether or not they were as confused as she was. Finally, she looked up at Team Rocket and stated, "That poem they recited makes no sense whatsoever."

"It ain't a poem, it's a motto!" Meowth hollered.

"What the-? It talks!" Alyssa exclaimed, taking a step back. She looked at Ash in bewilderment, only to find that she was being ignored.

"Give back Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

"No can do, twerp," Jessie said.

"Pikachu's ours now," James commented.

Meowth held up the glass container with Pikachu in it. Pikachu attempted a thunderbolt, but no luck. It only lit the light bulb on top of it. Pikachu sulked in frustration, and began to await rescue. He scowled as Team Rocket laughed once again, and produced smug grins towards those below.

Her head moving around in desperation, looking between Team Rocket and the so-called 'twerps', Alyssa threw her hands up, and shouted, "Can somebody tell me what's going on here?!"

Finally, Misty turned to her and answered, "Team Rocket is a group of bad people who steal other people's Pokémon, and they've been following us trying to steal Ash's Pikachu!"

"Oh... thank you for answering my question."

"And now, we're going to skedaddle if we want to bring Pikachu to the boss," Meowth said with a wry grin

"Oh, no, you don't!" Ash yelled, reaching for his belt.

"Go, Weezing, use smokescreen!" James summoned a Weezing, which did as he commanded. It was less than a minute until the smoke overtook them, leaving the four coughing for a minute before the smoke cleared. By then, Team Rocket had gained a lot of distance, and were steadily floating farther away. Ash took off running after them, with Brock and Misty following suit.

"Oh, great, more running," Alyssa groaned, following them.

* * *

Cindy couldn't believe she was walking back. Thoughts rolled in her head, trying to make sense of the recent events that resulted in Alyssa yelling. The human girl's expected reaction was fear, which had happened at first. But once the Squirtle got involved, Alyssa had gained a new resolve, and promptly chewed her out for everything that had happened in the past two weeks, especially the straw that broke the camel's back. For once, Cindy actually felt awful for her behavior.

_Why am I even walking back? _she thought. Remembering how Anonimo had chewed her out before leaving her buried in the Pokeball, she was worried that she was being abandoned yet again. The sharp sting of disappointment hit her, which awfully surprised her. She curled her little paw into a fist and knocked at her head, trying to figure out what was wrong with her, and why Alyssa and Anonimo behaved so differently toward her.

Anonimo was blinded by pride, not seeing that the way he was treating her was making her weaker. Cindy had never been in a battle with Alyssa commanding her, yet Alyssa repeatedly tried to feed her, talked with her like she was a person, and offered a warm place to sleep. The sharp contrast was jarring, especially considering her behaviors toward them. Why did she try to please the mean one, but scorned the nice one?

Gritting her teeth, she shook her head. No human was nice... or were there exceptions? Who was the rule and who was the exception? Thinking about it gave her a headache. Rubbing her head, she decided to imagine them as Pokémon; perhaps her own kind. Stopping her stroll and squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to imagine them both as Cyndaquil. To her surprise, Alyssa was easy to form into a Cyndaquil; Anonimo on the other hand, kept transforming into a Typhlosion, and yelled spiteful curses at her every time.

Her eyes shot open, and she stumbled back. The yelling frightened her, and she imagined herself being completely evolved. Squirtle's words reverberated in her head once again, and she winced. If she was a monster now, how would she be as a Typhlosion? Her eyes returned to their usual squint, and she clutched her chest. Standing there, she wondered if she had been the bad guy the whole time.

_Anonimo and Alyssa are two different people, _she thought. That much she realized. They had different personalities, different viewpoints, and different hearts, and different ways to try to get her to behave. She had dealt with them differently; fear of Anonimo's punishments, and anger toward Alyssa's... Alyssa's... she couldn't exactly decide really. What did Alyssa do? Wondering this, she looked at her scar.

_ "I don't even think Alyssa owns a whip,"_ she muttered to herself. _"Maybe... maybe I should give her a chance... she is the lesser of two evils..."_ She swallowed nervously, doubt beginning to form within her. She couldn't exactly run away if the Pokeball was still intact; but what if Alyssa refused to give her a second chance?

Just then, she heard yelling. She cocked her head, trying to discern the words. She recognized Alyssa's voice immediately, and decided the others were Ash, Brock, and Misty. Curious, she started running toward it. She ran a dozen yards before coming across a clearing, where she spotted Ash, Brock, Misty, and Alyssa chasing something. Noticing that their faces were looking up, she looked the same direction, seeing them chase a Meowth hot air balloon. Two people and a catlike Pokémon were mocking them. She took a closer look and saw Pikachu in a glass container, crying for help.

At first, she stood there, bemusedly watching the scene. Where did the people with the balloon come from, and why did they have Pikachu? She continued to watch from her spot, noting the anger on all the kids, with the exception of Alyssa, who looked a little confused at the whole thing. She scratched her head, trying to understand the situation at hand.

When it had finally clicked, her paws clenched into fists and she ground her teeth. It was one thing for a human to catch a Pokémon; it was another for them to steal another's! She fell on all fours and sped toward them, filled with a strange determination to stop them. She looked up at the balloon, aiming carefully at the balloon's eye. She drew an imaginary line from her mouth, took a deep breath, and fired Swift at the balloon. A few seconds later, a hissing was heard, several holes appeared, and the large face deflated fairly quickly. The basket dropped and skidded on the ground, with Team Rocket screaming.

Ash stopped, asking, "What was that?"

Alyssa and the other two stopped as well. She glanced at the balloon, studied the holes, and glanced at the direction she traced them to. With wide eyes, she exclaimed, "That was Cindy!"

Cindy stormed over to Team Rocket, who were lying in a groaning heap. Tapping her foot, she spat, "Quil quil Cynda Cynda Quil Cyndaquil!"

James asked Meowth, "What's it saying, Meowth?"

"She's saying that we're despicable for stealing Pikachu."

Jessie sprang to her feet, holding a Pokeball in her hand. "Listen, you, that Pikachu belongs to us, and you have no business to tell us what you think of us!"

"Cyndaquil Quil Quil Quil! Cyndaquil Quil Cynda!"

"She says, 'He doesn't belong to you! He belongs to the twerp!'"

Cindy smacked herself in the forehead. _I didn't call him a twerp! _She planted herself in place, pounding a fist into an open paw, growling, _"You best hand the electric mouse over before I roast you!" _

Once Meowth translated her words to the humans, Jessie fumed, "Oh, so you think you're hot stuff?! Arbok, teach this little rat a lesson!"

Cindy stood solidly, unwilling to let her façade be wiped away. She was angry, that's for sure; but she certainly didn't expect a battle! Her heart pounded when a purple, hooded snake Pokémon emerged from Jessie's Pokeball and hissed at her. The battles she had lost flashed in her mind, and she braced herself for another loss to add to her collection.

_No!_ She shook her head, reminding herself that she was not Anonimo's Pokémon anymore. Her losses were a thing of the past, and she had a new trainer. Doubt climbed in again as she remembered as Alyssa had only had one battle, which didn't count because Cindy had sabotaged it. Would a rookie do well against this snake?

Cindy was knocked back by Poison Sting, and she squealed in surprise. Landing on her back, her breaths slid through her clenched teeth. Her determination wavered as she thought, _I guess all I'm good for is losing..._

She tensed as she was picked up, and then set on all fours. She looked up at the culprit, Alyssa, who sported an incredulous look. Cindy felt her heart drop at the sight of the expression, and turned away in shame. She couldn't speak human, so how could she explain herself? Did this human hate her for being a overbearing jerk?

"Come on, Cindy," Alyssa said. "Going down by way of Poison Sting? I know you're tougher than that!"

"Quil..."

"No excuses!" Alyssa crouched down and said softly, "You can turn your flames blue. _Blue! _Do you realize that's hotter than orange fire? That must mean you're really powerful! And yet you hesitate to attack? Come on, you have no excuse for that, show them what you're made of!"

"Cynda..." Cindy swallowed, unsure of this. Wasn't Alyssa angry with her? What happened to the angry denouncement?

Alyssa looked up with a start. "Look out!"

Cindy snapped out of her reverie to see Arbok slithering toward her. Startled, she rolled out of the way of Arbok's presumed attack, and ended up on the side, her mouth open in astonishment. Without even thinking about it, she felt her spots emit their flames, and she could hear the crackle on her back more soundly than before.

"Use Flamethrower!" Alyssa shouted.

With a curt nod, she stood on two feet and took a deep breath. The next second had her exhaling a stream of fire racing out of her throat, and watching in satisfaction as it hit Arbok. When she stopped, a great sense of pride welled up within her, and she started craving more. With a smirk, she allowed her flames to burn more vigorously, and she planted one foot forward, beckoning towards Arbok.

And so, the commands from both female humans were in the air, as well as some yelling from Ash and James in their own battle, and the Pokémon battled. Arbok was trying to nab Cindy with Bite, while Cindy continuously jumped out of the way, laughing aloud at the failed attacks. Poison Stings were shot her way; Cindy simply kept jumping out of the way. There were failed Wrap attacks, more failed Bites, and more failed Poison Stings. She gleefully jumped out of the way when Acid was spewed her way, and she kept laughing at how Arbok kept failing to hit her, and how frustrated that Jessie was becoming.

Meanwhile, not willing to finish the battle so soon, she continued to pelt Arbok with Tackles and Swift, deciding that Flamethrower was much too powerful for her opponent to handle. The thrill of the battle was so intense, she couldn't hear Alyssa's commands. So, she continued to battle on her own merits, hitting Arbok over and over because the fight was too much fun to end. She stole glances at Ash and James' battle, and she spotted a Bulbasaur battling a Weezing, but she didn't take time to decide who belonged to who. Jessie's frustration was much too funny, and so was Arbok's. She fit in another tackle, enjoying the choking sound that sputtered out of its mouth.

"Cindy, I keep telling you to finish with Flamethrower!" Alyssa snapped. She groaned in frustration. She finally gets Cindy to battle, only for the Cyndaquil to ignore her, taking a little too much glee in repeating her ramming Arbok. She scratched her head in confusion, as she was sure that Cindy would take this battle seriously as she did at first. She began to wonder if the battle was too easy. Sighing, she muttered, "At least she's dodging..."

Cindy reeled back, ready to tackle once again. She stole a glance at Alyssa, wondering what she thought of her battling skills. She frowned upon seeing Alyssa's exasperated face. From what she could tell, Alyssa just wanted the battle to be done. She paused for a moment, realizing that she had not heard a single command from her. Was Alyssa hanging back? No, her face said otherwise, and Cindy wouldn't let her get a word in since the first command. Looking at her, she began expecting another command, hoping Arbok wouldn't attack during this pause.

Alyssa looked at her and said, "Okay, will you now use Flamethrower?!"

_Fine..._ Cindy sighed. She had her fun; it was time to finish it. But as she prepared the flames...

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"

Cindy froze when she heard 'whip.' She felt her heart nearly stop, her mouth dropped. It grew worse as she heard the crack of the Vine Whip, and she tensed, breathing shallow breaths. Her mind flashed back to that awful night, and her body began to sting as the imaginary whip smacked her body. Her arm was wrapped in pain again, and she saw a Croconaw with the bleeding eye watching helplessly as she lay helpless against the lash. Her body began trembling, and she squeaked sporadically as the memories overtook her senses.

Jessie laughed as she commanded Arbok to wrap her, which the snake readily complied with. Wrap added to Cindy's discomfort, and she began to squeal helplessly, unable to react to the present because the past was attacking her.

Alyssa was shouting frantically, "Cindy! Use your back flame! Back flame! Can't you hear me?! Back flame! Do something!" However, her Cyndaquil didn't seem to listen. She considered getting her Squirtle out to help, but stopped herself when she remembered the condition he was in when she caught him; he was too weak to battle.

By then, Ash's Bulbasaur had defeated Weezing and freed Pikachu from the glass container, when he noticed the situation. He furrowed his brow. Just a minute ago, that Cyndaquil was spamming Swift and Tackle just to torture Arbok for fun; and now she was stuck in Wrap. He sighed, knowing that her situation could have been prevented with a Flamethrower or two, and proceeded to use Vine Whip to grab Arbok by its tail and pull it off Cindy.

He smacked the snake into Weezing, leaving an instant knockout for it. He looked at Ash and Pikachu, who wasted no time in sending Team Rocket blasting off with a great Thunderbolt. He smiled at them, especially as praise was given to him for a job well done. However, he kept glancing toward the Cyndaquil, who was still having her strange fit. He grimaced and poked Pikachu to get his attention.

_"Pikachu..." _he said. _"She looks like she's having some sort of attack."_

Pikachu looked at Cindy's direction, and saw that the humans were gathered around her, trying to get her out of her funk, but nothing seemed to be working. She was sitting there, curled up into a ball, and trembling as the humans tried to speak to her. When Alyssa tried to touch her, Cindy's back burst into flame in a reflex.

_"What happened?" _Pikachu asked. _"She was just fine before!"_

Bulbasaur shook his head. _"I don't know... but she clearly needs some space."_

* * *

Cindy spent the whole night alone, and soon the attack subsided. The others were nearby in case something happened, otherwise kept their distance. After Brock realized that she needed space, he told the others this, and all backed away from her. It was not a pleasant night for her, but she got through it. Memories of the beating and the recurring dream of the forest flight shook her, but she had all night to recover.

As she stood by Alyssa saying goodbyes to the three, she kicked herself for not having finished the battle sooner; otherwise Arbok would have been long defeated when the attack happened. She was full of surprise and relief that Alyssa was not akin to beating, but she was still embarrassed to have interrupted the battle like that. She looked at Pikachu, perched on Ash's shoulder, who looked so happy. She frowned and turned away. As far as she knew, she could never be happy like he was.

She pulled at the lead rope, and scowled, wishing that Alyssa would remove the stupid thing. She didn't feel like running away anymore; it was her decision to try to give Alyssa a chance as a trainer that kept her staying this time. Keeping the lead rope on meant that Alyssa still didn't trust her.

As Alyssa and the three parted ways, she and Cindy walked in silence, a certain kind of uneasiness hanging in the air. Neither of them could place it, but there was something hovering between them. Was it what Cindy had put Alyssa through? Was it the angry rant that Alyssa had yelled? Was it the fit that Cindy went through? Or was it a combination of the three? Whatever the case, neither was sure how to handle it.

Alyssa took out a Pokeball and stared at it. Blowing out a breath, she finally broke the silence by saying, "We should go to the Pokémon Center."

Cindy turned to her and cocked her head. _Why? To try to fix my attitude?_

She idly rubbed the Pokeball with the thumb of the hand that held it. Glancing at Cindy, she said, "Those burns of Squirtle's need to be treated."

At first she was confused as to what Alyssa was talking about, but then remembered that Squirtle had been captured by a frantic Alyssa when Cindy was about to kill him. Realizing that the duo was now a trio, she nodded very idly.

Snickering, Alyssa said, "Kind of funny, really. I don't think anybody will believe me when I tell them that a Squirtle was my first capture, considering that you're a Fire-Type." She tossed the ball and caught it with her free hand. "Hm, I think I ought to name it... don't you think?"

To that, Cindy nodded. It wouldn't be fair for her to have a name and her teammate be simply called 'Squirtle.'

"Now... the only question is what gender this reptile is..."

_I'm pretty sure he's a guy, _Cindy thought. She was certain of that. Unfortunately, she was uncertain about just about everything else. Would she continue feeling the pain of the past? Would she and Alyssa ever be close like Ash and Pikachu were? How would she behave around Squirtle and future captures? She sighed and shook her head.

Nothing made sense to her.


	7. Cleaning Up Our Acts

**_A/N: _****Well, if you haven't jumped ship yet, you'll most likely do it here. Why, you ask? Oh, nothing, I just mention a couple of Fakemon and fanmade regions created by yours truly. See why you might jump ship? Unless that has nothing to do with it and you've just had enough of my crap. That's fine, that's fine. Nobody has ever created a perfect story, anyway...**

**And thus, I have my notes at the beginning instead of the end this time. If you're willing to put up with me longer, okay, have fun reading. **

* * *

_"No… hard feelings, right?"_

Cindy forced her mouth into the most awkward grin that this bandage-clad Squirtle had ever seen. Both sat on a bed that the latter was using for recovery during their stay in the Pokémon Center. Cindy dropped by after a checkup, hoping to make amends with him.

It was perplexing to see this Cyndaquil actually smile, let alone exit the state of anger and spite. Squirtle—having been christened 'Sammy' by Alyssa—was unsure of whether or not if she deserved his forgiveness. On the one hand, she had nearly killed Alyssa, as well as him when he jumped in to help the trainer. On the other, he noticed something off about her, sensing a confused nervousness that added to her grin.

Sammy knocked on his chest, the shell making rhythmic thuds with each knock. _"Well, I know my shell is hard."_

Cindy's sheepish smile fell into a scowl. _"This isn't a joke, Sammy! Are you mad at me or not?"_

_"I'm trying to decide if I am or not," _Sammy replied dryly, fingering the bandages. _"I have every right to be, after all."_

Cindy averted her gaze and looked down on the floor. Crossing her arms, she muttered, _"I know."_

_"I could hold that crazy blue fire thing against you for the rest of my living days. I could become bitter about losing to a Type I'm normally strong against. But, as my ma taught me, that could only hurt myself… especially now that I'm stuck with you and your trainer."_

_"So… you're not mad at me?"_

_"Are you kidding? Of course I am!"_

_"You decided quickly. Then… why aren't you yelling… or trying to beat me… or anything like that?"_

_"I'm in no mood for screaming at you. And I'm most certainly not going to beat you! I'm in no condition for that… but maybe later I'll get you wet when I'm bored."_

Cindy made a face at Sammy's rather dry threat and the snicker that came out of his mouth afterwards. Sighing, she added, _"So… what do Water Types do when they're mad? Other than the soaking thing…"_

Sammy tapped his chin in thought. He shrugged, answering, _"It really depends on the Pokémon and the day, really. Some responses are attack, another is throw a tantrum, and some withdraw into their shell. In the case of my kind, that's literal." _

_"I can see that." _Cindy looked at her feet, and stretched her arm to touch one of them, mostly out of a desire to rid herself of the tension in her limbs. Humming with a mix of anger and fear, she said, _"You don't seem mad…"_

_"I've had time to think it over."_ Sammy said, shrugging._ "Helps to be in a Pokeball, actually."_

_"NOOO!"_ Cindy snapped upon hearing the last sentence. The memories of being wrapped in pain came back, and she instinctively covered her scar, her hot breaths seething through her teeth. Her back flared, and she continued to glare at Sammy.

Sammy scooted back. With a pout on his face, he replied, _"Geez, you don't need to get so worked up about it. Are you sure you're okay?"_

_"I'm fine! Worry about your pain, not mine!" _Cindy snarled.

Sammy opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it again. Something wasn't right about the way she suddenly burst into anger. Was it something he said? And from what Cindy had said, he figured she had some issues.

Alyssa came walking in at that moment, cheerfully stating, "Hey, guys! Do you want to say 'hi' to my family?"

* * *

"Mom, Allison, Alexis," Alyssa stated at the screen of the video phone, presenting the Pokémon in her lap. "I'd like you to meet my Cyndaquil, Cindy, and my Squirtle, Sammy!"

Cindy was loosely hanging onto the knee she was sitting on. She still didn't feel quite comfortable, and she felt nervous when calmly sitting on Alyssa. She could feel herself shaking, and tried to will herself to stop before anyone noticed. The last thing she wanted was anybody staring.

Alyssa's mother nodded, though Alyssa couldn't discern what that meant. She knew her mother wasn't exactly fond of Fire Types; unfortunately, she was married to a man who loved to raise Ponyta and Rapidash, and had kids that apparently inherited a desire to have Fire Types of their own, if Alyssa's older brother wanting a Charmander when they lived in Kanto was any indication. Things weren't better when Alyssa herself desired a Cyndaquil when they moved to Johto. And not even a fire in New Bark persuaded the girl otherwise.

Allison looked at the Cyndaquil and said, "Cindy? Hey, that means you got a girl Cyndaquil!"

"I know. I was surprised to learn she was female!" Alyssa replied.

"And how did you catch that Squirtle with her?"

Alyssa grimaced, as did Cindy and Sammy, as memories of the blue fire incident came to mind. "Let's just say….Cindy was in a really bad mood and Sammy happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Hmm… it still doesn't quite explain that," her mother said. "Either Cindy is powerful, or… or…" She looked at the Squirtle nervously, wanting to avoid saying something that'll hurt his feelings.

_Save it, I know what you mean, _Sammy thought.

Cindy was surprised at Alyssa's mother's reluctance. Why doesn't she say then and there that Sammy's a weakling?

Luckily, the subject was changed quickly when Alyssa's mother knitted her brow and asked, "Okay, why didn't you call the last two weeks? You told me you'd call when you got to the first Pokémon Center!"

"Uh… this is the first Pokémon Center…" Alyssa said, mumbling.

"And it took you two weeks to get there? Were you too focused on catching Pokémon and drawing to remember your family? Or were you jumping around again? If it's the latter… what do your Pokémon think?"

"Sammy hasn't seen me do that! And Cindy… yeah, she thinks its weird… I've seen the look on her face…"

Sammy glanced at Cindy with a confused look, obviously about the jumping thing. Cindy huffed and answered, _"Don't ask."_

Two-year-old Alexis pointed at the two Pokémon, speaking gibberish with her hands clasped together and rubbing her cheek against them. The words "cute" and "Pokémon" were somewhere in there, and the toddler looked absolutely giddy as she finished with "hold 'em."

Her mother held her and said, "Yes, they are cute, aren't they?"

"Yes! Me hold 'em!" the little one exclaimed.

Alyssa giggled. "You'll get to hold them when I come back home. That is… if I can get Cindy to be nice."

Cindy turned to her with a sour look and stuck her tongue out at her. Alyssa was tempted to mimic the action, but with family on the phone, she restrained herself from doing so. She noticed Sammy shaking his head, and shifted herself to make herself more comfortable. Cindy nearly fell off, and clung to Alyssa's knee in fright.

"You have said that Cyndaquil tend to be more docile, but she seems a little jumpy. Hopefully you don't get burned too much," Alyssa's mother said. She looked at Sammy and added, "Good thing you have a Water Type. Hm, I haven't known one personally since Tafi died…"

Both Cindy and Sammy looked at Alyssa curiously, wondering who this 'Tafi' is. Alyssa cleared her throat and answered, "Tafi was a Collisoak that Mom trained when she was younger." Noticing their blank faces, she added, "That's… a Water Type dog Pokémon from the Netlo Region. Their pre-evolved form, Whirlpup, is a Starter Pokémon there." Sammy smirked and said to Cindy, _"I like the sound of those Pokemon. Maybe someday we'll meet one of those dogs. Most dog Pokémon I've met are Fire Types." _

_"Whatever," _Cindy grumbled.

"Okay, we've established that I'm okay…" Alyssa said, sounding like she was wrapping up the call.

"There's one more thing, Alyssa," her mother said. "Chelsea dropped by earlier. She was asking if you started your journey yet, and was wondering if she could catch up with you so you can travel together."

Alyssa grinned. "Chelsea's here? I thought she was still travelling with Danielle, and that Trevor would join them!"

Once again, the confused faces of her Pokémon caught her attention. "Oh… Chelsea, Trevor, and Danielle are my cousins… so, Mom, why is she here instead of with her brother and sister?"

"Chelsea said that Trevor and Danielle would be fine without her, and that since Anthony didn't go on a journey, you have no one to give you tips. So, she and Cinnamon are coming to find you."

"Sweet!" Alyssa exclaimed.

"Okay, so do you mind staying at the Pokémon Center until she comes? I bet she'll love to meet your Pokémon."

"Okay, sure! I need to rest after these last two weeks… anyway, love you, Mom!"

"Love you, too."

"Bye, Lyssa!" Allison hollered.

"Bye-bye," Alexis cooed.

Alyssa hung up the phone and the screen went black. She sighed and looked at her two Pokémon. Cindy immediately jumped off her knee and started stretching. Then, the Cyndaquil turned around and looked at her, seeming to be waiting for something.

"Um… well, I should tell you that this 'Cinnamon' that has been mentioned is a Kittiember… that's a Fire Type cat Pokémon from the Linto Region… it's a Starter there…" Alyssa rambled.

_"Now you've got me curious about what the other starters of both of those regions you mentioned are,"_ Cindy murmured._ "And how many regions are there? Kanto, Johto, Netlo, Linto…"_

_"…Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos…" _Sammy listed. When given a funny look by Cindy, he raised his arms in caution and said, _"Just listing some of 'em. There's plenty of them, as well as a lot of Pokémon that inhabit each and every one of them. I've learned a lot on my travels, okay?" _

_"Okay, sure, whatever," _Cindy muttered. Looking up at Alyssa, she couldn't help but tilt her head at the way Alyssa just stared at the video phone.

Alyssa's heart felt heavy, and pounded at her chest as she stared. There was something she needed to do, but she also wanted to avoid it. Calling Professor Elm should be easy, but Alyssa had not the will to dial the number. Did she even remember it? She wanted answers for the questions about Cindy, but she feared the negatives that the Professor would bring up, and deem her unworthy to be a Pokémon trainer. It didn't help that she felt that way when handling Cindy, especially after learning that something terrible happened in her past that made her lash out against nearly everybody. As much as she wanted to know more, she was terrified of talking to him.

"Squirtle?" Sammy asked.

Alyssa snapped out of her reverie and looked at him. She sighed, "I'm not sure I want to talk to Professor Elm… I imagine he'll say I've made a mistake in grabbing her when she didn't want me…"

Cindy heard her and sat on the floor, drawing imaginary circles on it with her paw. It sure felt like a mistake. Neither one of them quite had a grasp of the others' feelings. Alyssa was quite oblivious about Cindy's turmoil, while Cindy was too angry to notice Alyssa's waning patience.

_I've been a real jerk, too, _she thought. She took deep breaths, and wiped her misty eyes. She didn't want either to see how weak she was being—no, how weak she always was. It didn't matter whether or not she could shoot blue fire; she was nothing but a pathetic little wimp. Anonimo was right.

She watched as Alyssa finally mustered up the courage to dial the number. She was thankful that she couldn't admit that she was afraid of Alyssa's talk with Professor Elm as well. Will she tell him about the amount of abuse that Cindy heaped on her? Or about how the Cyndaquil almost murdered Sammy? What about the humiliating loss against that Arbok because she failed to follow common sense? Would she be taken away and given to another? What if the next human turned out to be worse than Anonimo? She shuddered at the thought of a human worse than Anonimo, and hoped that she could at least stay to make amends with Alyssa.

Alyssa took deep breaths as she waited for an answer and watched the screen. She nearly jumped as the image of Professor Elm popped up as he answered. Elm jumped as well, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alive…" he said.

"Yep… I'm still in one piece…" Alyssa replied.

"So, uh… how are you and your Cyndaquil getting along?" Professor Elm tried to remain professional, but it was clear that his façade was wavering.

"Well, she finally stopped bullying me last night… now she's just confused…"

"I see. I hope you've tried your best to be patient with her. It's quite difficult with her tendency to lash out at, well, everybody." Elm's head hung as he added, "Alyssa, I am very sorry that I got you into this mess. I should never have let you run out with her. I could make all kinds of excuses, but none of them will matter. Is there any way I could make it up to you?"

Alyssa blinked. She didn't expect an apology from him! "Well, uh… all I have is a few questions…"

"Questions?"

"Yeah, like about a scar that's on her arm? Can you explain that?"

Cindy bristled with anger and made a threatening fire explode from her back. Alyssa noticed the display and exclaimed, "Calm down! If you try to attack me, you could set the Pokémon Center on fire!"

"Squirtle Squirt!" Sammy said, jumping off Alyssa's lap and approaching her. Looking at her, he said, "Squirt, Squirtle?"

"Cyndaaa…" Cindy growled, covering her scar and looking away.

"You should have let me know if she was in earshot," Professor Elm said, his hand to his face. "She's sensitive about that."

"I figured as much," Alyssa answered.

"Anyway, I don't know what happened, other than the implication that she's been abused. She was a mess when I first met her, and had to be transported to the nearest Pokémon Center as fast as possible. She spent a month recovering from her physical wounds, but, as you can see…"

"…those other wounds haven't healed." Alyssa slouched in her chair and glanced at her two Pokémon. Sammy was doing well in keeping Cindy calm, as the not-burning Pokémon Center attested to.

"You see why this is a mistake? Look, I'll be willing to take her back and decide a different course of action for her. You can continue your journey with that Squirtle, and things will go normally for you. Unless you can prove to me that she really is behaving better, I don't want to risk any more than I've already done."

"How do I prove it when you're over there, and I am here?"

"I'm making my way over there in a couple of days. I have a couple of things to take care of here, but once I'm done I'm coming to that Pokémon Center. I hope you both put in an effort to get along before I come there, because I really hate doing this to trainers. Understand?"

"Yes," Alyssa mumbled. "I'm waiting for my cousin, anyway…"

"Okay, I'll see you in a couple of days. Whatever happens, I still wish you the best of luck on your journey." With that, Professor Elm hung up.

"Um… bye?" Alyssa mumbled. She hung up the phone as well, with a surge of relief that the call went well, as well as a swell of fear about the next couple of days. Would she pass and get to keep Cindy, or will she fail and have to give her up? Either way, she'd still get to be on her journey, and she'd get to keep Sammy. Still, the thought of losing one Pokémon was giving her a heartache.

She looked at the two Pokémon, who had both heard everything. Sammy looked neutral, but Cindy looked aghast at what she heard. Alyssa didn't know what she was thinking, but the look on her face had her curious. She wanted to poke fun at her for her fickleness, but at this point, she was walking on eggshells.

She crouched down to their level. Sighing, she said, "So… these next couple of days are going to be awkward… don't you think?"

Sammy nodded vigorously, while Cindy looked at the floor. Squeezing her eyes shut, she thought, _They're not enough for me to make it up to you. _


	8. Cooling Down

Cindy catapulted into sitting position, panting with shaky exhales. She wiped her forehead and looked around. It was a relief to know that she was inside instead of outside, on a warm bed instead of wet grass, and that there was no angry teenager with a whip around, instead a ten-year-old laying in the bed with her back to her on the other side of the room.

She clutched at her blanket, and tried to will away the recent nighmare. She looked out the window, only to see a cluster of stars in view instead of stormclouds. She connected the twinkling dots, and found herself looking at that imagined Feraligatr constellation yet again.

She felt the deep ache of fear welling up in her heart, and a pit form in her stomach. Professor Elm was coming the day after tomorrow. She dreaded the coming day, fearing that she would be thrust into a worse situation. And what if she misbehaved—or worse, tried to kill trainer number three—and had to be transferred again? And again, again, and again?

She began to wonder how Alyssa would do without her. She had Sammy; so if Cindy had to leave, at least Alyssa would still have a Pokémon and continue her journey. And she'd do it without the interference of a ill-tempered Cyndaquil.

_She's better off without me, _she thought. She turned to the wall and punched it as hard as she could. She removed her throbbing paw and rubbed it, hoping that it could distract her from her anguish. But, as her increasingly negative thoughts attested to, it didn't work.

_Not only is Alyssa better off without me, so is Sammy,_ she thought. _And Professor Elm, and any of the Nurse Joys, and any future Pokémon Alyssa catches, and this Chelsea person, and this Cinnamon! The whole world's better off without me! I'm either a nothing or a monster! Why doesn't anybody just kill me before I make anybody's lives worse?_

She stood up, walked to the edge of the bed, and then jumped onto the nightstand. She continued to gaze at the stars, wondering what made those tiny dots glitter among the dark blue velvet above. Were they windows to heaven, being used for angels to peek through and see those who were worthy to enter? With a glance at her scar, another thought crept into her mind.

_I'm sure heaven doesn't want me._ She smacked the window and let her paw slide down. As far as she knew, the world would be better off if she hadn't existed at all.

"Want to know something about stars?"

Cindy jumped and spun around to see Alyssa leaning on her elbows in her bed. She could have sworn that the trainer had been asleep last time she checked. She didn't even hear her turning in her bed.

Alyssa gazed out the window. "They may look like tiny, glittering dots, but they're actually big balls of fire that are really far away. How big? Well… a whole lot bigger than this planet, that's for sure. How far away? Millions and billions and trillions of miles away."

Cindy stared in disbelief at her, and then turned to look at the stars again. Those tiny dots were actually very large and very far away? It was incredible. They must be very bright for that light of theirs to reach such a faraway planet. Even then, they didn't appear in the daytime; the sun was much too bright.

"I think that the stars were put there on purpose," Alyssa said, sitting on the edge of her bed now. "Maybe we needed a little glitter on that dark sky, to remind us that there's always a light in the dark, even when there's no moon. It's like having faith that things will get better, even though you're going through troubled times."

Cindy shook her head. _My night is cloudy and the stars are hidden. My morning is nothing but a storm. Your view sounds nice, but you have no idea what I've been through. You're just so clueless._

Alyssa sighed. "I'm sorry for getting frustrated, hurting you, and getting you upset. I guess I still have a lot to learn about being a Pokémon trainer and controlling my temper. I hope you forgive me."

Cindy put her forehead to the window. _What are you sorry for? I frustrate everybody! I'm the one who needs to control her temper! I'm the one who almost killed you! I'm the one who should be begging forgiveness! Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who's sorry about her awful behavior… and I have barely any time to make it up to you…_

"If you're allowed to stay with me… I'll try to be the best trainer I can be for you." Alyssa pulled herself under the covers. "I won't hurt you… I promise. Good night…"

Cindy still leaned against the window, listening to what Alyssa was saying. Her breaths were shallow and her eyes were misty. Was she going to keep that promise, or will she falter at Cindy's next outburst?

Putting her paws together, she whispered, _"If anybody can hear this prayer… please… let me know that her words aren't hollow…"_

* * *

Cindy immediately went outside in the morning, going to the area behind the Pokémon Center. The air was cool, and the grass under her feet was damp with dew. Wanting some time alone to think, she strolled to a lone tree, which overlooked a pond with some Poliwag playing in it. She sat on the side facing the pond, and looked around the area. No doubt the serene atmosphere of this place would help her keep a clear head… perhaps without the Poliwag nearby.

While she was certain that her trainer would be unhappy with her for wandering somewhere, at least she didn't go far. Besides, she now realized that she didn't have anywhere to go if she ran away. With a deep sigh, she stared at the ripples caused by the happy Tadpole Pokémon.

After a few moments, her eyes made their way to the sources of the ripples, who had the biggest smiles that were possible for a Poliwag. They were gleefully splashing each other and laughing while doing so. Even the most reluctant one, who only tapped the water with his tail, was enjoying himself.

Cindy scowled at them and turned away. _Why couldn't I be that happy?_ she wondered. She glanced at the Poliwag again, faced away from them again, and forced a grin. She thought she heard her mouth creak with it, and her face began to hurt. But if she was smiling, she was happy, right? She certainly didn't feel like it. Holding her grin, she took a quick look at her reflection in the water. Unfortunately, the ripples distorted the image.

She looked up and shouted, while still holding her grin, _"Hey! You mind staying still for a few minutes so I can look at my reflection?" _

The Poliwag stopped their frolicking and turned to look at her. The very next moment, their eyes widened, and their mouths opened to reveal the most high-pitched collective scream that she had ever heard.

The noise startled her, but she kept her grin up. She quickly looked at her reflection, and saw that her wide grin—showing both rows of teeth, her gums, and wrinkled every part of her face—was what they were screaming about. She jumped and stumbled backward into the tree, the back of her head banging onto the bark. Her grin disappeared and was replaced with a growl as she held her throbbing head.

She shot a glare at the still screaming Poliwag and shouted, _"Okay! I stopped smiling! You can stop screaming now!" _

They refused to listen to her, with three of them now on land and running around in circles, and the rest resuming their splashing in a frantic manner. Cindy jumped to her feet, and her head suddenly felt like it was floating, with a pin attached to the back of it. As the screams rose to a higher pitch, she screamed, _"The Cyndaquil has stopped her smiling! You may calm down now! Do you hear me?! The Cyndaquil has stopped her—"_

One of the Poliwag interrupted her with a well-aimed Water Gun and knocked her down. She laid there for a good few seconds, the wetness of her fur and the cool air combined to give her a cold touch on her skin, the screams of the Tadpole Pokémon boring into her head, and the increasing anger welling up in her body.

Suddenly, she leapt to her feet, and shrieked, _"That's it! I'm shutting you up myself!"_

She bolted around the pond toward the Poliwag, the three on land taking off running, forgetting that they could jump into the pond. A chase ensued between the Pokémon, and Cindy and the Poliwag were circling the pond over and over. Cindy tripped over a pebble, but it barely phased her as she leapt back up and resumed the chase. The trio she was chasing continued their screeching as the Fire Mouse pursued them, having completely forgotten about their type advantage somehow.

Nurse Joy, Alyssa, and Sammy ran outside to find the unusual scene of a soaking wet Cyndaquil in hot pursuit of three screaming Poliwag, while five others watched from the pond, screaming as well. All three of them stared for a few moments before they started laughing. Nurse Joy had her hand to her mouth, Alyssa was clutching her sides in her uproar, and Sammy was shaking his head as he chuckled.

_"Golly, what did those poor Poliwag do?" _Sammy muttered between chuckles.

Cindy sprang forward and caught one of them by the tail. With a triumphant cackle, she hoisted the tadpole into the air and drew back a fist for a punch. She winced at the continued screaming of the Poliwag, and opted to finish the punch quickly.

Alyssa stopped her laughing once she saw what Cindy was about to do and bolted forward. She picked up the Cyndaquil with a stern, "No, don't do that!" and made Cindy let go of the Poliwag. Sammy followed her and went to the leader of the group, trying to calmly get them to quiet down, only to get slapped by several tails.

Cindy squirmed in Alyssa's grasp, and attempted to flare her back to no avail. She threw punches and kicks in random directions, in hopes of Alyssa loosening her grip and letting her finish her business. However, Alyssa clutched tighter, even though doing so was dampening her shirt.

"She… needs to be dried off…" Nurse Joy said. "And taken away from those Poliwag so she and they can calm down."

"I'm with you on that," Alyssa agreed. "Come on, Sammy, let's go!"

* * *

Late afternoon came very slowly, and it was a tedious time for both Pokémon and trainer. Cindy was still upset about the Poliwag incident, and thus she sat in the tree and kept her back turned to Alyssa the entire time, due to her interference of the lesson Cindy was about to teach one of those tadpoles. She restrained any desire to attack, due to the fear of getting on Alyssa's bad side and making things worse. An attempt to ignore her was the most peaceful thing she could come up with, and her back igniting was best threat she had without going too far.

Of course, Alyssa still came close to her roughly every hour, asking innocently, "Are you still mad?" And if she prodded further, Cindy would just flare her back to get the message across.

Alyssa only left the area twice, both for meals. And she returned both times with a food bowl for Cindy, and set the bowl at the base of the trunk. She then sat at her rock, let Sammy out of his Pokeball to play in the pond, and both of them would keep watch for thieves.

No matter how hungry she was, she would keep reminding herself that she was angry. If those Poliwag hadn't kept up their stupid screaming… she shook her head. She was a Cyndaquil; she shouldn't be that scary to a gang of Poliwag! Couldn't Alyssa just let her slap some sense into them?

At one point, Cindy glanced back, and noticed Alyssa picking up a nearby stick. Alyssa sat down with her back to Cindy, slouching forward. Cindy noticed Alyssa's right arm moving in a strange manner, spiking her curiosity. She turned around, stood up, and tried to get a closer look, but nothing new appeared. So, she slid down the trunk of the tree, and quietly walked toward her. When Sammy spotted her, she put a paw to her mouth in a shushing motion, and continued walking.

She stopped when she saw a stick, which the right hand was wielding. Peering at the stick, she saw it was being dragged along in the dirt in front of Alyssa. Cindy came in closer as she became more and more curious.

She was practically next to Alyssa when she saw what was happening. In the dirt, Alyssa had drawn a picture of a creature, with a long snout, chubby legs, and squinty eyes. A fire was being ejected from its back. Cindy realized it was a picture of a Cyndaquil. And from the jagged line on one of the arms, she knew it was her.

"How is it, Cindy?"

Cindy jumped and saw Alyssa looking straight at her. She blushed and stepped back, squeaking in shame. Rubbing her arm, she looked away, unsure of what to make of Alyssa's bright eyes.

"It's not something to be embarrassed about, I just want to know what you think," Alyssa said.

"Quil…" _You can't understand me, remember?_

"Hey, just give me a gesture to show whether you like it or not."

Cindy walked back forward and studied the picture some more. The head was big, and the body was small. The legs were merely circles with ovals for feet, and the fire was not wild enough. But it was good enough that she could tell it was her, and she couldn't help but be a little flattered about it.

She idly kicked at the dirt and twiddled her paws. A ghost of a smile appeared on her face, and she muttered, "Quil…"

"Do you like it?" Alyssa asked.

Cindy nodded.

"Hehe, thank you. I've been told I'm good at drawing all my life. My mom has kept a lot of my drawings from when I was little. I drew Psyduck a lot…"

_Psyduck? You weirdo,_ Cindy thought. She snatched the stick from Alyssa and ran to another patch of dirt. Alyssa was surprised by Cindy's sudden action, and looked at Sammy in the pond, who merely shrugged. She looked back at Cindy, who had started drawing. Curious, Alyssa waltzed on over and tried to look over her shoulder, but Cindy's back burst into flame, showing she didn't want Alyssa to look yet.

Alyssa jumped at the warning. "Okay, okay! Sheesh," Alyssa said, rolling her eyes. She walked back and sat down on her rock, waiting for Cindy to be done. To keep her patience, she watched Sammy swim in the pond, relaxing as he floated on his back. Sammy glanced at her and waved with a smile. Alyssa waved back.

She looked back at Cindy, wondering about her progress, but the Cyndaquil snapped at her, and Alyssa looked back forward at Sammy. The Squirtle shrugged, glanced at the food bowls by the tree, and hopped out of the pond to take one of them.

"It's okay to take one, Sammy," Alyssa said. "They're just a generic flavor that every Pokémon likes; I haven't figured out her specific tastes yet."

Sammy grinned and picked one up, and then sat against the tree. He started popping the pellets in his mouth, munching in contentment. Tapping his chin, he thought, _My meal would be better with raspberries… oh, well. _He continued eating as Alyssa waited for Cindy to finish her drawing.

It was a few minutes before Cindy was finished. Satisfied, she called Alyssa over, and the human complied. Alyssa studied the picture Cindy had drew. It was a stick figure, with short hair and wearing the same clothes she was. She grinned and giggled. It was a picture of her. She looked at Cindy and Cindy was waiting for a comment about the picture.

"Oh, well… I've never seen a Pokemon draw before, except a Smeargle. Good work, it looks a lot like me," she said, hoping Cindy would take it as a compliment.

It felt awfully strange to have a compliment directed toward her, much less something not involving battle or how "cute" she was. She curled up into a ball, not knowing how to respond to words that gave her a warm feeling. She immediately wondered if it was a lie, if it was just to get on her good side, or if she really meant it.

_Come on, your arms and legs are not that skinny! _Cindy thought. _And I forgot your nose! _

"Hey, don't do that," Alyssa said. "I like it… after all, not many people could say they had a Pokémon draw a picture of them. And it really is a good first drawing! I started with scribbles… as a toddler… and then I graduated to Psyducks…"

Cindy uncurled herself, and nervously looked up. Alyssa was giving her a very sweet smile, and the rosiness in her cheeks added to the innocent, youthful face that was being displayed. Cindy gulped, unsure about the accuracy of that image.

Then, Alyssa stretched her hand forward slowly, and Cindy instinctively backed up. Most of the human touches had not been very gentle, and Cindy was afraid to take the risk. She remembered Anonimo's frequent harm of her, and the careless grabbing Alyssa displayed before. Would this touch be any different?

Alyssa pulled back instead of persisting with the pet, which surprised Cindy. The words that Alyssa had said the night before came to mind. _I won't hurt you… I promise. _Was she going to keep that promise? The whole Poliwag incident made her doubt that.

Despite this, she forced herself forward. There was no stress this time; certainly Alyssa will stay gentle. She sat down in front of her, squeezed her eyes shut, and waited.

She felt Alyssa's hand on her head, and she tensed up. Willing herself to stay calm, she felt a few small strokes from her forehead to the back of her head. She relaxed when the stroking was done, and looked up at Alyssa.

Alyssa giggled and said, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Cindy nodded meekly.

"Well, we've now seen what happens when we're both calm. It's nice, isn't it? If only we could be this way all the time, don't you think?"

Cindy nodded again.

"If anything, violence is not the answer. Believe me, I've gotten in trouble for fighting with my sister in the nastiest way… with hair-pulling and biting and punching and kicking and trying to restrain each other. And I've gotten my brother mad at me for hurting him—even when he started it." Those last words rolled off Alyssa's tongue in contempt.

Cindy merely squeaked with indifference. She hadn't met Alyssa's brother, so she didn't know what to think of him.

"So… trying to punch that Poliwag was a no-no. I don't care what that group of Poliwag did, it still wasn't very nice."

Cindy crossed her arms and pouted. _You try being in my position in that situation! You'd lose your patience pretty quickly if a group of Poliwag refused to stop screaming at you!_

Before Alyssa could say another word, there was a cry of dismay from Sammy. Both girls whirled around to face the tree, seeing what kind of trouble Sammy had gotten into.

Sammy had finished his bowl, and was currently trying to defend the other from a wild Eevee. The Eevee had its mouth clamped onto Sammy's arm and pulling at him, and Sammy was clinging onto one of the roots of the trees. He was between the Eevee and the food bowl.

However, Sammy lost his grip and was now being swung around like a bulky club. He was shouting as he was hoisted like a weapon, and smacked into every possible surface. By the time Alyssa and Cindy were to their feet, Eevee had smacked Sammy's head into the tree and tossed him into the pond. It collected its prize, and winking mischievously, darted back into the forest.

Cindy bolted toward Eevee, with her back flared and her mouth rattling off some kind of angry rant that Alyssa couldn't understand. Alyssa was almost certain that the Fire Mouse was cursing, and was tempted to call her out it. However, she instead decided to focus on the now unconscious Sammy.

She had reached Sammy and picked him up when Cindy returned from the forest, muttering something in her Pokémon tongue.

"You lost it already?"

"Quiiiiillll!" Cindy complained.

"Well, forget about it, Sammy got bitten and knocked on the head, let's get him to Nurse Joy!"

Cindy sighed, and she and Alyssa dashed to the nearby Pokémon Center. She was still bitter about that Eevee stealing food intended for her. Sooner or later, she was going to get that Eevee.

From the bushes, Eevee enjoyed her dinner as she watched them run to that building. Snickering, she said to herself, _"They're so gullible."_

* * *

**A/N: So, here's another. That's quite a mischievous Eevee, don't you think? Poor Sammy...**

**I may have had a little inspiration from "How To Train Your Dragon" when I was writing this. :I Ah, well, just have fun reading and running, folks, I'm quite good with that. XP**


End file.
